Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried reports the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state has surpassed three million since March 2020.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says deaths in the state from COVID-19 exceed 42,000 people. 

Fried says some of the hardest hit areas like Broward County are setting up temporary morgues.

On top of these deaths, she says according to the latest Department of Health and Human Services data, more than 17,000 Floridians are currently in hospital with COVID fighting for their lives.

“There are currently 17,143 Floridians lying in hospital beds with COVID-19 as we speak including 3,557 COVID patients in the ICU.”

Fried says that’s almost 53 percent of the state’s available ICU beds.

“That accounts for 52.69 percent of all ICU beds with 92.82 percent of ICU beds in use across the entire state.”

Fried says the state has an almost 20 percent positivity rate.

Experts warn that these numbers are coming before what’s expected to be a busy flu season, when the coronavirus and flu might combine in deadly ways.