Polk County registered its first COVID-19 death as the number of confirmed cases in the county rose to 73 on Tuesday, up 10 from the previous day. Fourteen of those cases were in Lakeland, up from 12 on Monday.

Polk’s first death was a 60-year-old man who died on Saturday after his case was recorded on March 28, according to the Polk County Health Department. He had no known recent travel history but had been in contact with another COVID-19 case.

So far, 1,214 people have been tested in Polk, with 1,103 tests registering as negative and 33 awaiting responses. Polk County has an estimated population of more than 700,000 people.

The number of people hospitalized in Polk was reported at 28 on Tuesday, up from 21 the previous day.

Reported cases in Winter Haven grew by four to 18, while Lakeland and Davenport each recorded two new cases. Auburndale and Fort Meade saw their first cases reported Tuesday.

Current totals reported for Polk cities are:

  • Davenport, 20
  • Winter Haven, 18
  • Lakeland, 14
  • Kissimmee, 9
  • Lake Wales 3
  • Haines City, 2
  • Bartow, 2
  • Auburndale, 1
  • Champions Gate, 1
  • Fort Meade, 1
  • Frostproof, 1
  • Mulberry, 1

Tracking the number of cases

Today, LkldNow introduces a chart we’ll update daily to show how the number of COVID-19 cases in Polk changes over time. The top number is all Polk cases; we’re also looking at the number of Polk County deaths, hospitalizations and cases in Lakeland.

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Barry Friedman founded Lkldnow.com in 2015 as the culmination of a career in print and digital journalism. Since 1982, he has used the tools of reporting, editing and content curation to help people in Lakeland understand their community better.

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