Florida breaks past 4,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. 840 more reported in one day
Florida has pushed past 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the state Department of Health’s said Saturday evening, with 840 new cases reported in one day, the most since the pandemic hit Florida.
The state is now at 4,038 cases, which represented an increase of 275 cases between Saturday’s morning and evening reports. Two more deaths were also reported since the morning — 10 more since Friday — raising the death toll to 56.
Of the total cases, 3,877 positive patients are Florida residents while 161 are not. Health officials say 567 people are hospitalized in the state, an increase of 41 since Saturday morning.
Saturday morning, Miami-Dade and Broward counties each reported one new death.
Miami-Dade’s newest reported death, its third, is a 77-year-old man whose case is not travel-related. It is unknown if he had contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19
The county’s first coronavirus-related death was Israel Carrera, a 40-year-old who lived near North Miami City Hall, attended Winter Party Festival in Miami Beach in early March and later fell ill. He died on Thursday. Health officials say the second death was a 79-year-old man; no other details about his case were made public.
The state’s numbers don’t include two other Miami-Dade deaths that were confirmed Saturday by hospitals: Araceli Buendia Ilagan, 63, a long-time ICU nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital; and an unnamed patient at the Miami VA Healthcare System in his or her 90s, no other information released.
Broward County had an additional death reported, according to the health department’s dashboard. The patient was a 67-year-old man who had traveled to New York. Broward’s death toll is now at 11.
Of the 11 deaths, at least six are from residents at Atria Willow Wood, an assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale.
Dr. Alex Hsu, a 67-year-old Margate internist who died on Wednesday was the first South Florida medical professional to die from COVID-19.
COVID-19 CASES IN SOUTH FLORIDA
More than half of the 4,038 confirmed cases — 2,281 — are in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties, making South Florida the state’s epicenter of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The Florida Department of Health added 118 cases in Miami-Dade County from Saturday morning, bringing the total to 1,121.
In Broward County, six cases were added, bringing the total to 820.
Palm Beach County had 26 more cases confirmed, bringing the total up to 318.
Two more case were confirmed in Monroe County, bringing the total number in the Florida Keys to 22.
The rise of confirmed cases falls in line with testing availability in the state, particularly in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, as drive-thru testing sites are open.
South Florida resident breakdown on ages, hospitalizations, deaths
Here’s a South Florida breakdown based on Florida’s Department of Health COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard:
Miami-Dade County: 1,121
▪ 1,097 residents, 23 non-residents and one resident who is not in Florida
▪ Age range: 3 to 120, average age is 48
▪ Three deaths and 91 hospitalizations
Broward County: 820
▪ 801 residents and 19 non-residents
▪ Age range: 0 to 97, average age is 48
▪ 11 deaths and 99 hospitalizations
Palm Beach County: 318
▪ 304 residents, 12 non-residents and two residents who are not in Florida
▪ Age range: 6 to 92, average age is 50
▪ Six deaths and 37 hospitalizations.
Monroe County: 22
▪ 19 residents and three non-residents
▪ Age range is 19 to 80, average age is 52
▪ Zero deaths and four hospitalizations
This breaking news article will be updated once more information becomes available.
This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 12:27 PM.
