Daytona Beach, FL - As more people got tested for COVID before the holidays, the number of new cases rose by more than 400 percent from the week ending Dec. 16, 2021 with 29,519 new cases reported statewide to the week ending Dec. 23, 2021 with 125,201 new cases.
Locally, from the week ending Dec. 23, 2021, Volusia County had 999 new cases for a weekly positivity rate of seven percent. For Flagler County, 172 new cases reported gives them a new case positivity rate of 8.1 percent.
The state of Florida broke the previous daily record for new COVID cases with 31,758 on Friday and broke it again on Christmas day, with another 32,850 new cases reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pushing Florida's total to more than 3,897,138 since the pandemic began.
Volusia County's vaccination rate for the population aged five-years-old and over is 64 percent. For Flagler County, it's 68 percent.
Some other Florida counties are distributing free COVID take-home rapid test kits to residents. Check back with newsdaytonabeach.com for if an when the kits will be available in Volusia and Flagler counties.
