Joe Biden becomes 46th U.S. president as Florida reports 11,615 new coronavirus cases

ORLANDO, Fla. – As Joe Biden swore the oath of office Wednesday to become the 46th president of the United States, he takes the helm of a looming pandemic that has taken more than 402,000 lives.

Biden was eager to go big early, with an ambitious first 100 days that includes a push to speed up the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations to anxious Americans and pass a $1.9 trillion virus relief package.

[TRENDING: Biden will move to reverse these Trump policies | Here’s how to register for COVID-19 vaccine | At least part-time residency required for vaccine in FL]

Biden predicted he would take office amid a “dark winter” and the outlook is only getting bleaker.

“We’re inheriting a huge mess here,” incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain bluntly told CNN Sunday. “The virus is going to get worse before it gets better,” he warned. “The virus is the virus. What we can do is act to control it.”

The incoming president has lined up an expansive team of scientific and supply chain experts to boost testing and vaccinations and aims to shake up how the federal government manages the pandemic. Incoming press secretary Jen Psaki announced last week that Biden would be “phasing out” the Trump administration’s structure and centralizing all COVID-19 response at the White House under Biden counselor and coordinator Jeff Zients.

To read more about Joe Biden’s plan to control the coronavirus, click or tap here.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida reports 9,659 new COVID-19 cases as UK virus variant spreads]

Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the state on Jan. 20.

Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 11,615 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the state’s overall total to 1,601,011 cases since the coronavirus pandemic began in March.

Deaths

Florida reported 145 new virus-related deaths Wednesday, raising the death toll to 24,965. This number includes the 387 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospitalizations

As of Wednesday afternoon, there were currently 7,147 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

Since March, 68,932 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 454 new patients who have been recently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the health department’s daily report released on Wednesday.

Positivity rate

The percent of positive results was 10.72% Tuesday out of 108,303 total tests reported to the state.

Up until Wednesday, Florida had been holding steady with a daily positivity rate under 10% during the past three days.

Health officials say the rate should remain between 5% and 10% to prove a community has a hold of the virus and is curbing infections.

Vaccinations

The Florida Department of Health recently began releasing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state.

As of Wednesday, 1,233,593 people have been vaccinated in Florida. The FDOH also reports that 111,188 people have received their second shot.

The state used to provide figures showing how many people were overdue for their second vaccination but as of Wednesday, that information has been removed from the report.

[Register for the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida here]

See COVID-19 data for the Central Florida region below:

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