Florida surpasses 50K COVID deaths after battling delta wave

By Danielle Prieur

Published September 17, 2021 at 2:00 AM EDT

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a-health-worker-administers-a-dose-of-the-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-against-covid-19-at-the-medalla-milagrosa-church-in-valparaiso-chile-on-april-6 — A health worker administers a dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19, to a man at the Medalla Milagrosa Church in Valparaiso, Chile, on April 6, 2021. - Chile has recorded record new daily infections recently, regularly topping 8,000 -- a much higher number than during the first wave of the pandemic. Experts have blamed the surge in cases on a false sense of security from the arrival of vaccines, a number of new virus strains and a hasty slackening of containment measures. (Photo by JAVIER TORRES / AFP) (Photo by JAVIER TORRES/AFP via Getty Images)

MIAMI (AP) — Health officials say the state of Florida has surpassed 50,000 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied 50,811 deaths after adding more than 1,500 COVID-19 deaths provided by state authorities on Thursday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the latest wave was “really rough,” striking younger and healthier people, including numerous police officers and firefighters.

More than one fourth of the total COVID-19 deaths in the state occurred this summer as the state battled a fierce surge in infections fueled by the delta variant.