FL Suffers Unemployment Data Breach, 49,451 Coronavirus Cases

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida health officials reported the number of coronavirus cases in Florida climbed to 49,451 Friday as the agency that handles state unemployment claims confirmed that 98 people may have had their data compromised.

"We have notified the 98 individuals that were part of a data security incident associated with Reemployment Assistance claims," Press Secretary Paige Landrum of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity told Patch.

She said the issue was handled quickly though she did not immediately say when the data breach occurred.

"While the incident was handled within one hour, in an abundance of caution, we are making available identity protection services at no charge to affected individuals, and we have also advised them to report any unauthorized activity on their financial accounts," Landrum said, adding officials had not received any reports of malicious activity as of Friday.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday he is lifting all restrictions on youth activities, including summer camps and athletics.

"We believe that this makes sense based on the data and observed experience," he said. "We are not going to be instituting a lot of rules — or really any rules. At the end of the day, we trust parents to be able to make decisions in conjunction with physicians and community leaders and coaches to be able to do these activities in a way that are safe."

State health officials reported a total of 2,190 deaths involving Florida residents as of Friday, up from 2,144 a day earlier. Friday's case total represents an increase of 776 new cases over the previous 24-hour period.

Sixteen Florida counties reported 59 new deaths Friday over the previous 24-hour period compared to 51 new deaths Thursday, 43 Wednesday, 55 Tuesday, 24 deaths Monday, eight Sunday, 47 on May 16 and 41 on May 15.

Miami-Dade, which reopened a number of businesses this week, reported 25 new deaths Friday. Palm Beach County reported three new deaths.

Hillsborough County reported six new deaths Friday. Duval County reported four new deaths as did Lee County.

Polk County reported three new deaths as did Sarasota County. Charlotte County reported two more deaths as did Manatee County.

Calhoun County reported one new death as did Collier County Desoto County, Escambia County, Lake County, Martin County and Volusia County.

Florida had a 5.9 percent positive test rate for the virus based on a total of 837,172 tests that had been administered as of Friday. The number of hospitalizations in Florida increased to 9,117 from 8,946 a day earlier.

A total of 28,174 cases — or some 57 percent of the state's total — were in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Miami-Dade reported 16,522 confirmed cases of the virus as of Friday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 6,580 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes West Palm Beach, reported 5,072 cases.

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Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 1,790 cases as of Friday. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 1,744 cases.

In an attempt to provide as much information to our readers as possible, Patch is publishing the following county-by-county breakdown of the coronavirus cases in Florida's 67 counties, along with the median age of patients, the number of hospital cases by county and the number of deaths.

Related:

• NOAA Predicts Strong 2020 Hurricane Season Amid Coronavirus
• Miami Archbishop Reinstates In-Person Mass For Catholic Faithful
• Venice Diocese Reinstates In-Person Mass For Catholic Faithful
• Tattoo Parlor Owner Frustrated At State's Silence On Reopening
• Sarasota's Lido Beach Reopens
• FL Businesses Move Into Full Phase 1 As Attorney Plans Lawsuit
• Tourist-Driven Miami Will Focus On Road-Trip Strategy
• FL Governor Gives OK For Gyms, Fitness Studios To Reopen Monday
• Miami, Fort Lauderdale Restaurants, Salons Get OK To Reopen
• Florida Pays Out $1.83 Billion In Unemployment Benefits
• Manatee County Lifts 2-Hour Restrictions On Beach Parking
• 15 Residents Evacuated From Nursing Homes After Testing Positive
• Palm Beach Sees Drop In Some, But Not All Crime
• FL Barbershops, Hair And Nail Salons To Reopen
• Blue Angels Salute Health Workers On 75th Anniversary Of V-E Day

Patch updates this chart once each day based on data provided by the Florida Department of Health. The counties that reported new deaths on Friday are shown in bold.

Here is the most recent data: