8. Omicron Wave: On Christmas Eve 2021, Florida breaks single-day record for most COVID-19 cases since pandemic's start

Top 100 Stories 2021 / Headline SurferCounting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1. Each segment includes a 2022 update.

By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida set a new single-day record on Christmas Eve 2021 for the highest number of reported cases of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Florida had 31,758 new COVID-19 cases reported on Friday, Dec. 24, 2021, breaking a record for the most infections in a single day since the start of the pandemic in the US in March 2020, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new record was driven by the fast-moving omicron variant across the Sunshine State.

Previous to Christmas Eve, the single-day highest number of coronavirus cases was in late August, during the height of the delta variant wave in Florida, when 27,802 cases were reported.

Previous to Christmas Eve, the single-day highest number of coronavirus cases was in late August, during the height of the delta variant wave in Florida, when 27,802 cases were reported.

Tourism is seen as the driving force behind this most recent spread with cruise ships docking in South Florida ports and Christmas holiday travelers flying into Orlando, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami. 

2021 TOP 100 COUNTDOWN (so far):

8. Omicron Wave: On Christmas Eve 2021, Florida breaks single-day record for most COVID-19 cases since pandemic's start

9. Billie Egger Wheeler sworn in for 2nd term on Volusia County Council & named vice chair

10. Orlando's Tiger Woods suffers serious leg injuries in single-vehicle rollover crash near Los Angeles 

11. Cops in Daytona & Port Orange and a deputy in Orlando lose their lives to COVID-19 

12. 'Mr Anti-Vax' Marc Bernier of WNDB Radio in Daytona dies of COVID-19 

13. Roman Reigns retains WWE Universal title during 2nd night of Wrestlemania at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium with limited fans due to COVID-19

14. Windemere cops: Orlando-area retired MLB player Johnny Damon arrested on DUI charges; wife charged with battery on a LEO

15. Volusia County had 16 shark bite incidents in 2021, 2nd-highest in 20 years, most of them in New Smyrna Beach

16. FWC: Record number of Florida manatee deaths in 2021 - mostly from starvation caused by water pollution

17. Sheriff Mike Chitwood tells TV news crews he feels no sympathy for girl, 14, fighting for her life after she & boy, 12, engaged deputies in gunfire

18. k9s Endo & Ax honored in Daytona Beach by Sheriff Mike Chitwood for heroics responding to carjacking in Deltona that saw both dogs shot

19. Dog thrown from 2nd-floor balcony of Daytona Beach motel survives & gets new leash on life with disabled military vet

20. Deltona man pleads not guilty in Seminole County court in Sanford to charges of 'upskirting' 2 women at Home Depot in Lake Mary

21. Winter Park Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy announces she's not seeking re-election to 4th term in 2022

22. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood silent on deputy arrested two years in a row on DUI charges

23. Port Orange cops: Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood hit again by a motorist on his bicycle, but was wearing his helmet this time

24. Sanford cops: 19-year-old man shot & killed behind the wheel at BP/Circle K in apparent drive-by shooting

25. NBA SHOCKER: Orlando Magic trade All Star Nicola Vucevic to Chicago Bulls, Aaron Gordon to Denver Nuggets & Evan Fournier to Boston Celtics in biggest mid-season teardown in franchise history

26. Ex-Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett, who was at the helm during the Trayvon Martin homicide, dies of lung cancer at 52

27. Daytona Beach cops: Speeding Ormond motorist killed, 5 firefighters injured in traffic crash between Pontiac & fire truck during Bike Week

28. Daytona Beach cops: Motorcyclist killed in collision with school bus during Bike Week

29. Daytona Beach Circuit Judge Steven C. Henderson succumbs to COVID in August at age 49  

30. VCSO: Deltona woman charged with DUI in crash that paralyzed her 4-year-old son

31. Deltona prowling suspect caught red-handed by deputies on bodycam footage with his pants down to his knees & looking at a woman through her BR window

32. Man wanted in shooting death in New Smyrna Beach apprehended in Putnam County

33. 2020-21 NBA Draft: Orlando Magic get two quality 1st round picks with G Jalen Suggs and F Franz Wagner at No.'s 5 & 8, respectively

34. Attendance abysmal for paid Donald Trump-Bill O'Reilly 'History Tour' in mid-December at Orlando's Amway Center

35. Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young fires cop arrested on aggravated battery charge in off-duty stabbing outside New Smyrna bar

36. Altamonte Springs cops: 3 brazen thieves steal $13,000 worth of wigs from Sassy Sista's Boutique

37. Daytona Beach cops: Man arrested on 1st-degree murder charges in brutal machete & scissors attack on elderly landlady; state to seek death penalty

38. Daytona Beach cops: Homeless man charged with 2nd-degree murder in bludgeoning of another homeless man; accused later found unfit to stand trial

39. Daytona Beach cops: Car dealership employee arrested on murder charges after taking vicious swing with metal bat & deliberately striking a co-worker in the head

40. Longwood cop fired for harassment after allegedly hugging a co-worker against her will as a means of mocking her fear of COVID

41. Multimedia: No takers for Sheriff Mike Chitwood's record-breaking $50,000 reward for info leading to an arrest in the murder of DeLand HS cheerleader Laralee Spears 27 years ago

42. Multimedia: Oak Hill woman arrested on animal cruelty charges after throwing ex-boyfriend's crated cat into Intracoastal Waterway to drown, but the feline was rescued

43. Drunk DeBary man arrested on animal cruelty charges for shooting family dog between the eyes after he was bit during an argument with girlfriend; miraculously pit-bull mix survives

44. Holly Hill biker and veterans advocate 'Crazy Eddie' Colosimo, 79, dies from COVID-19

45. New Smyrna Beach resident & amateur photog Sylvan McElroy marvels at SpaceX launch

46. Daytona Beach cops: Three men arrested on multiple felony charges in dogfighting ring; 42 pit bulls rescued

47. Heritage Middle School staffer in Deltona arrested on child abuse charges after allegedly smoking weed with 14-year-old student

48. Gruesome death: Ex-con Christopher Trull of Oak Hill decapitated & legs severed in apparent suicide by train

49. Orlando Cops: Alleged drug dealer arrested in mid-December in Fentanyl-related triple homicide after 3 addicts found dead in apartment

50. Double homicide highlighted in People magazine: Who killed a Sanford woman and her boyfriend?

51. 'Little Dom' Kurek attention getter at New Smyrna Beach Christmas Parade with total toddler cuteness

52. With his Tampa Rays jettisoned from the MLB playoffs, Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette went to Plan B - the Atlanta Braves - who won the World Series

53. New Smyrna Beach's Ellen Darden proud of son-in-law John Smoltz, MLB Hall of Famer & baseball analyst on Fox World Series coverage

54. Deltona car break-in suspect leaves pizza trail of clues for responding deputies and a trip to jail in handcuffs

55. Keith Appling a footnote in Orlando Magic history, awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges in Detroit 

56. Embry-Riddle College student from Chicago charged With multiple counts of child porn here in Daytona Beach

57. Multimedia: Man wanted on federal warrant tries to escape cops by jumping into the Intracoastal Waterway in Edgewater; transported to jail soaking wet

58. VCSO deputy arrested on domestic violence charges involving fellow deputy, his girlfriend

59. Elderly Daytona motorist dies shortly after he's pulled from vehicle fully submerged in pond following accident

60. Loveable dog 'Midnight' survives being stabbed by DeLand man described as suicidal and Baker-acted; dog recovering from cruel act

61. Orlando felon sentenced to seven years plus in federal prison for possessing a short-barreled rifle and aggravated identity theft

62. DeLand police K9 Daro retires from the force

63. Red dot guns added to Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety's arsenal

64. Deltona man arrested on felony fraud charges back in October by arranging for theft of his black 2020 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special in attempt to cash in on $30,000 insurance payout

65. $25,000 reward put up to smoke out alleged Orlando-Daytona serial rapist in hiding or a decade who preyed on women back in the '80s, '90s

66. Altamonte Springs man arrested Dec. 27 after allegedly threatening to pull his daughter out of Winter Springs High School by “shooting anybody” who got in his mother (expletive) way

67. Walt Disney World Day proclaimed by Jerry Demings and Buddy Davenport, the mayors of Orange County & Orlando, respectively

68. Deltona-area man arrested on animal cruelty charges after allegedly killing ex-tenant's pet Boa python by pouring acid on it & strapping tank top so it couldn't escape

69. Sanford cops: 16-year-old boy shot & killed in Aug. 12 drive-by shooting

70. Dr. Victor Herrera, chief medical officer for AdventHealth Orlando, sounds alarm: 'Too many unvaccinated patients are critically ill & dying of COVID-19'

71. Embry-Riddle student apparently despondent over failing grades arrested after allegedly threatening to shoot up the campus 

72. FWC: Lake Helen man arrested on felony charges for allegedly forcing a lawn cutting blade into an alligator that had to be euthanized & destroying a gator egg nest with his mower

73. Winter Springs Woman gets 8 years in federal pen for embezzling $1.16 million from her employer; using the dough to buy a BMW & a Porsche

74. Port Orange cops: Man arrested on a warrant in December accusing him of sexually abusing 2 girls, ages 14 & 11; jailed on bonds totaling $1M

75. Remembering late 4-time Indy 500 champ Al Unser's crash in '78 race at Daytona where his airporne car just missed bellyflopping into Lake Lloyd

76. Three-time Indy 500 champ Bobby Unser, who briefly led the 1969 Daytona 500, died in May at 87

77. Daytona Top Cop Jakari Young: 60-plus individuals busted in Operation Pay Dirt focused on illicit drug & gun sales

78. Two Daytona Beach drug conspirators sentenced to federal prison for distributing cocaine, heroin & fentanyl

79. Reax of pol. consultant to false rumor that Daytona blogger turned-child sex perv David Lee Davis had died in prison: 'Let the guy rot'

80. Daytona Beach cops: Man shot in the leg after engaging officers in gunfire during dramatic 7-hour standoff near Westside Elementary School

81. It was Happy Easter 2021 to Y'all  near and far from pro-wrestler-turned-politician Matt Morgan & his family here in Central Florida

82. Daytona Beach cops: Murder of 23-year-old city man found shot to death near the back of an apartment complex in August remains unsolved

83. Deltona's Ann McFall, who held several prominent Volusia County leadership posts, passed away in April at age 68

84. Team Rebuild Continues: Orlando Magic & head coach Steve Clifford mutually agree to part ways

85. Towering bridge iconic sight in tourism-driven Daytona Beach trying to emerge from year-long dreadful pandemic

86. Judge sentences Orlando man to 50 Years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children via the Internet

87. Daytona Beach PD's Craig Capri new top cop in Eustis

88. Wayne Taylor Racing wins Rolex 24 at Daytona for third consecutive year

89. 2016 COLD CASE: Sanford cops ask public's help in solving Halloween murders of 2 brothers gunned down in mom's home by a masked intruder

90. Forough B. Hosseini Hall newest addition to Daytona State College

91. Daytona Beach cops: For the 2nd time in a year, a beachside motel is raided in effort to quell drug dealing

92. Daytona Beach cops: Woman arrested 2nd time in four months for allegedly using her North Street residence to sell drugs

93. Casualty of the pandemic: Iconic Little Drug Co. in New Smyrna Beach closing its doors  

94. Daytona Beach cops: Titusville man killed in traffic crash after ignoring a stop sign and colliding with another vehicle

95. It's Boss Time: WWE Superstar Sasha Banks waves the green flag as honorary starter of the Daytona 500

96. Daytona Beach cops: 4 men arrested in early morning drug raid

97. Intracoastal Bank in Daytona Beach and Palm Coast promotes two up-and-coming execs

98. Venerable Oak Hill Commissioner Linda Hyatt takes to social media to call out the Daytona Beach News-Journal on a badly-misspelled headline

99. Nikola Vucevic lone Orlando Magic player named a 2020-21 NBA All-Star

100. Sanford cops: Man arrested in domestic shooting incident at sprawling Village Lakes Apartments

2020 TOP 100 COUNTDOWN (final): 

1. Volusia County Council's Heather Post blatantly lied to the public about past illicit drug us

 
Henry Frederick bio / Headline SurferAbout the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: