Florida hit a grim milestone on Thursday, becoming the fifth state in the country to pass 10,000 deaths due to the novel coronavirus, behind New York, New Jersey, California and Texas. The Florida Department of Health reported 117 new deaths on Thursday morning, putting the total at 10,049 since the pandemic began. The state also reported 4,555 new cases, bringing the total number of cases to date to 588,602. In Sarasota County, 43 new positive Covid-19 cases were reported; in Manatee County, 71 new cases. 

While the number of new cases have decreased in recent days, the number of Floridians being tested each day has also gone down—from an average of more than 96,000 per day during the last two weeks of July to an average of just over 60,000 per day this week, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. When more tests were being given, the number of positive cases reported was higher.