Florida reported more than 75,000 cases of COVID-19 last week, continuing a drop from summer highs when the state battled a fierce surge in infections fuelled by the delta variant. However, despite the decline in new cases, the state also marked a somber milestone, surpassing 50,000 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

According to the latest figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state’s daily average last week was about 10,800 cases, though there were 11,275 new cases reported on Friday. A month ago, Florida was averaging more than 21,000 cases a day. The daily average for the past week was the lowest since the end of July.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Florida since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 is just shy of 3.5 million cases, according to the CDC. As of last Thursday, Florida had also counted 51,240 COVID-19-related deaths.

Epidemiologists say the state’s rates of vaccination has outpaced the national average, but it has not been enough to keep the highly contagious variant at bay because of its outsized population of elderly people and low vaccination rates among younger groups they interact with.

Among those refusing to get vaccinated are around 600 Orange County Fire Rescue workers in the Orlando area who are resisting Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ mandate to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has threatened to fine local governments like Orange County requiring employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

“It certainly is not my desire to terminate any of our employees and we have not to date terminated any of our employees because they refuse to take the vaccine. I hope that we don’t get to that point,” Demings stated. “But regardless of what you think about the vaccine, where you land as an individual, there’s still some lawful authority that we have as an employing entity over the employees that we are directly responsible for.”

Meanwhile, one of central Florida’s largest hospital systems transitioned back to normal operations after several weeks of restrictions on elective surgeries and other efforts to conserve resources because of the surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations. AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division said the number of COVID-19 patients at its hospitals now stands at 850 people, several hundred patients fewer than earlier this summer.

“We understand that COVID will be with us and we are going to need to understand how to care for COVID patients while we also care for others that need care in our community,” said Dr. Neil Finkler, chief clinical officer for AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division.

Arizona

Another COVID hotspot, Arizona, similarly saw a decline in cases but arise in fatalities, reporting over 100 daily coronavirus deaths for the second time since February.

The 108 confirmed deaths and 2,742 new coronavirus cases were reported Saturday. Hospitalizations dropped below 2,000 for the first time in nearly three weeks, with 1,981 COVID-19 patients occupying hospital beds on Friday, down from the current surge’s high of 2,103 on Sept. 11.

Arizona has reported a total of 1.06 million confirmed cases and 19,487 confirmed deaths since the start of the pandemic.