The number of Florida resident deaths linked to COVID-19 this year is nearing 5,500, according to data posted on the state Department of Health website.
The data showed 5,484 deaths had been reported, a total that has steadily increased during the year.
As an example, at the end of September, the Department of Health website showed a reported 4,781 deaths. But this year’s pace of deaths is lower than during the past four years.
The pandemic hit the state in 2020. That year, Florida had a reported 23,349 deaths, according to state data. The number jumped to 39,872 in 2021, before declining to 21,306 in 2022 and 8,442 in 2023.
The largest number of deaths this year, 495, has been reported in Miami-Dade County, followed by 422 in Palm Beach County and 317 in Pinellas County.
Since the pandemic began, 98,453 people have died of COVID in Florida. The first case was confirmed in Doctors Hospital in Sarasota in 2020.