Orange County, Florida, now has the highest COVID positivity rate in all of Florida

In a continuing trend in the Sunshine State, new COVID cases in Florida continue to remain high, as the state reported more than 67,000 new cases on Thursday. The state also continues to grapple with difficulties in getting residents tested with some reports and social media posts alleging that some lines are so long, people have passed out while waiting.

Credit: Tampa Bay Times

Governor Ron DeSantis has laid the blame for long testing lines and the lack of treatments for residents with COVID-19 with the federal government. DeSantis said on Monday of this week that he’ll re-establish sites for treatments for Floridians with COVID-19 as soon as the federal government sends those treatments, according to The Orlando Sentinel. The governor also cites a shortage of COVID tests available. No mention was made, however, about his efforts to stop any vaccine or mask mandates in the state.

Credit: ABC News

As of today, Orange County, Florida, also has the state’s highest average positivity rate at 40%, meaning that for every 5 people who are COVID tested, 2 of them are positive for the virus. This is also a record for Florida’s positivity rates among COVID tests, according to information from the U. S. Centers for Disease Control.

As of December 29, a record average of more than 146,000 tests are being reported daily, which in turn drives up Florida’s average number of daily cases reported.

Credit: The Orlando Sentinel

Today the state of Florida also saw an 80-person increase in its number of COVID-related deaths.

Yesterday, more than 8,500 patients in hospitals across the state had COVID-19. That’s the highest number Florida has seen since September 19 when the country was still in the grip of the spread of infections related to the delta variant of the virus. Yesterday’s number of hospitalized patients with COVID in Florida is also four times what it was at Christmas, according to the most recent data from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

RELATED: Florida sets yet another record for new COVID cases on Christmas Day!

Positivity rates continue to grow across the state, and as of January 4, 2022, all of Florida’s counties–67 total–are considered “high risk” for community transmission or spread.