US: Florida Has Lowest Rise In COVID Deaths Since Sept.

The US state of Florida has seen the lowest increase in COVID-19 related deaths since September, said state health officials on Monday.

The southeasternmost state saw nine people lose their lives to the disease last week. For the two weeks prior to that, the number ranged between 22 and 98, according to state health department.

Among US states, Florida has the fourth-highest number of COVID-19-related deaths, with more than 34,000 out of a total 562,000.

The Sunshine State also leads the nation in the number of the UK variant known as B.1.1.7 with 3,510 identified cases, as well as 126 cases of the Brazil variant P.1, and 27 cases of the South Africa variant B.1.351, according to Monday figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Last week all persons in Florida 18 or older became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to state health department.

Distributed doses are at almost at 238 million in the US with 187 million administered as of early Sunday. So far, only 72.6 million people, or 21.9% of the US population, have gotten two doses, according to CDC figures. -