TAMPA (WFLA) – Hillsborough County is approaching a grim milestone with nearly 1,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to state data.

In Tuesday’s update to the Florida Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard, Hillsborough County went from 999 coronavirus-related deaths to 996 deaths.

In an email to 8 On Your Side, a spokesperson with the Department of Health said a further investigation could have led to a different cause of death for some of the 999 that was previously reported.

“Data should not be added or subtracted day-to-day and report to report. As epidemiological investigations progress, new information regarding cases is often uncovered and is immediately integrated into our reports. This includes past cases,” a spokesperson said in an email. “It’s possible, after an epidemiological investigation, the death was determined to be a non-COVID-19 related death, a duplicate case, or a non-Florida resident.”

Still, Hillsborough County is fourth in the state for coronavirus cases and deaths, following Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Broward Counties.

Pinellas County isn’t far behind with more than 950 of its residents dying from the virus.

Statewide, more than 1.1 million people have had coronavirus, including more than 20,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.