TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida reported 5,004 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. It’s the state’s second-highest total in a single day and comes one day after Florida shattered its one-day record with 5,511.

It also continues a trend that has medical experts and elected leaders urging the public to follow safety guidelines more vigilantly.

Florida is now up to 114,018 confirmed cases and 3,327 deaths associated with COVID-19, according to the latest data released by the health department.

There were 46 new coronavirus-related deaths reported Thursday morning across the state, including nine in Miami-Dade County, one in Broward and four in Palm Beach County.

In the past day, Miami-Dade County’s confirmed cases increased by 885 to 28,664. The county has 935 deaths, the highest total in the state.

Broward’s cases increased by 367 to 12,584. The county’s death toll rose to 379.

Palm Beach County’s cases increased by 304 to 11,840, with the death toll at 486.

Monroe County now has 188 cases (an increase of 14 overnight) and four confirmed deaths.

Florida has confirmed at least 13,775 coronavirus-related hospitalizations since the start of the outbreak.

Medical experts and elected leaders have attributed the rising numbers of confirmed cases to a combination of more testing and people coming closer together both as businesses reopen and while attending large protests in recent weeks.

Gov. Ron DeSantis this week threatened to strip the licenses from businesses that don’t follow the state’s orders about masks, social distancing and reduced capacity. Local leaders have also vowed to be tougher on violators.

Miami-Dade County has seen a recent surge in hospitalizations, including many patients in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. The county is looking for new ways to address hotspots in parts of Miami and southern Dade, including a new “surge team.”

Some cities have said they will mandate masks everywhere in public, an order that is causing confusion among residents.

Positivity rates trend higher

Statewide, Florida reports having completed over 1.7 million tests for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, with 6.6% coming back positive.

The rate of positivity among people tested for COVID-19 across Florida has been higher over the past week than previously, cresting at 15.91% positivity for tests administered Tuesday.

A look at the percentage of COVID-19 tests in Florida that have come back positive over recent days. (Florida Department of Health)

Here’s a look at how those percentages have trended in Miami-Dade and Broward counties:

MIAMI-DADE

6/5 – 6.8%

6/6 – 3.6%

6/7 – 7.8%

6/8 – 5.1%

6/9 – 7.1%

6/10 – 5.7%

6/11 – 6%

6/12 – 10.3%

6/13 – 3.1%

6/14 – 8.8%

6/15 – 9.0%

6/16 – 12.8%

6/17 – 11.2%

6/18 – 11%

6/19 – 11.6%

6/20 – 13.3%

6/21 – 8.9%

6/22 – 18.0%

6/23 – 19.5%

6/24 – 10.1%

BROWARD

6/5 – 3.3%

6/6 – 2.9%

6/7 – 4.5%

6/8 – 4%

6/9 – 6.7%

6/10 – 5.9%

6/11 – 5%

6/12 – 6.0%

6/13 – 2.7%

6/14 – 5.1%

6/15 – 7.5%

6/16 – 9.7%

6/17 – 7.3%

6/18 – 9.0%

6/19 – 9.7%

6/20 – 9.5%

6/21 – 6.1%

6/22 – 10.2%

6/23 – 11.0%

6/24 – 6.5%

Younger people testing positive

DeSantis and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez have highlighted data that shows the median age of people testing positive for COVID-19 in the state is lowering, with more younger people being diagnosed.

While that younger demographic may not require hospital care, Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease expert with FIU College of Medicine, said “it’s just a matter of time” before hospitalizations increase.

“Those people with milder symptoms still have tremendously high viral loads and they can infect those among us who have underlying conditions or elderly who are more likely to end up in the hospital,” she said on Local 10′s “This Week in South Florida.”

Gimenez even suggested that older, more vulnerable residents may want to keep from having close contact to younger people who have been out and about.

Latest totals

The United States has passed 2.3 million confirmed cases, with over 121,000 deaths from COVID-19, the highest numbers in the world. Over 656,000 Americans have been deemed recovered, according to data compiled from various sources by Johns Hopkins University.

Worldwide, the number of COVID-19 cases reported has surpassed 9.4 million. There have been more than 483,000 deaths worldwide attributed to the pandemic, with over 4.7 million being declared recovered.

In Florida, since June 3, the state has reported more than 1,000 new cases each day except one.

Thursday: 5,004

Wednesday: 5,511

Tuesday: 3,289

Monday: 2,926

Sunday: 3,494

Saturday: 4,049

Friday: 3,822

June 18: 3,207

June 17: 2,610

June 16: 2,783

June 15: 1,758

June 14: 2,016

June 13: 2,581

June 12: 1,902

June 11: 1,698

June 10: 1,371

June 9: 1,096

June 8: 966

June 7: 1,180

June 6: 1,270

June 5: 1,305

June 4: 1,419

June 3: 1,317