Florida is reporting 14,000 new COVID-19 cases because the state is dealing with a new variant of the virus

ORLANDO, Fla. Florida is leading the country in cases of the COVID-19 variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, the state has 125 cases of the variant. Six cases of the COVID-19 variant have been reported in Seminole County, according to the Department of Health.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Johnson & Johnson announces vaccine efficacy as Florida reports 10,871 new COVID-19 cases]

Seminole County isn’t the only area where cases have been reported in Central Florida.

According to Dr. Raul Pino of the Florida Department of Health, two cases were reported in Orange County. The cases in Orange County came from two visitors.

The variant has also been reported in Osceola County, Volusia County, Brevard County, and Lake County. Health officials said the B.1.1.7 variant has appeared with an unusually high number of mutations.

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The variant spreads more easily and faster and is most common in London and was first spotted in September 2020, officials said.

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Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 14,735 new cases on Saturday, bringing the state’s total number to 1,713,589 cases since the coronavirus pandemic began in March.

Deaths

Florida reported 110 new virus-related deaths Saturday, bringing the death toll to 26,795. This number includes the 435 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospital admissions

According to the State Agency for Health Care Administration, 6,153 people with the virus were hospitalized in Florida on Saturday afternoon.

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Since March 72,135 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 271 new Patients recently hospitalized for the virus, according to the daily health department report released Saturday.

Positivity rate

The percentage of positive results was 6.62% on Friday. Health officials say the rate should stay between 5% and 10% to prove that a community has a hold on the virus and is keeping infections in check.

Vaccinations

The Florida Department of Health recently began publishing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines being administered statewide.

As of Saturday, 1,948,148 people have been vaccinated in Florida. The FDOH also reports that 296,782 people received their second shot.

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

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Province	Cases	New cases	Hospital admissions	New hospital admissions	Deaths	New deaths
Brevard	29,177	385	1,774	5	650	11
Flagler	5,254	51	294	3	70	0
Lake	21,697	186	1.129	3	426	2
Marion	24,370	192	1,535	1	575	1
Orange	102,897	942	2,202	7	939	2
Osceola	33,447	273	1.194	3	374	4
Polk	50,201	509	3,830	30	967	3
Seminole	24,055	194	1035	3	373	1
Sumter	7,070	73	438	0	186	0
Volusia	30,750	430	1,516	10	534	0

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