Florida has third day of low reported coronavirus cases, but thousands of tests are pending
The Florida Department of Health reported 821 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide since Wednesday evening, marking the third consecutive day new cases haven’t been reported in the 1,000s, although thousands of pending tests may be skewing the results.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, as of Thursday evening, rose to 23,340, a 4 percent increase since Wednesday evening. Florida ranks eighth in the country in terms of number of cases.
State health officials also reported 54 new deaths since Wednesday evening, bringing the state death toll to 668, a 9 percent increase.
Of the 54 new deaths, 40 were in South Florida:
▪ Eighteen men and nine women ranging in age from 55 to 96 died in Miami-Dade, raising the county’s death toll to 183 — the highest in the state. The state does not list information on the 28th case, even though it is tallied in the overall count of 183.
▪ Seven people between 66 and 99 died in Broward County, pushing the county’s death toll past the 100 mark at 101.
▪ Palm Beach County announced the death of a 59-year-old woman and four men ranging in age from 59 to 89, raising the county’s death count to 112.
Miami-Dade continues to have the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in Florida and is ranked 16th in the country of counties with the most coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
The 14 other deaths were in Charlotte, Collier, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Polk, Santa Rosa, Seminole, St. Lucie, Suwannee and Volusia counties.
Of the total statewide cases, 22,674 are Florida residents and 666 are non-residents who were diagnosed or isolated in the state.
However, these numbers are likely to be significantly undercounted because the state reports only the number of Floridians waiting to hear test results from state labs, not private ones — and private labs are completing more than 90% of state tests.
The results of thousands of pending tests from private labs have taken as long as two weeks to be added to the state’s official count. The state’s website does not say its figures exclude the vast majority of pending tests for the novel coronavirus.
Health officials say the state has had a total of 3,458 hospitalizations relating to COVID-19 complications.
The statewide and county-level data for COVID-19 hospitalizations includes anyone who was hospitalized during their illness and “does not reflect the number of people currently hospitalized,” according to Florida’s Department of Health.
The department says it does not “have a figure” to reflect current hospitalization data.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
Here’s what Thursday evening’s Florida’s Department of Health data shows:
Miami-Dade County saw 195 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the county total to 8,326. Health officials say 8,249 are residents, 76 are non-residents and one is a resident who is not in Florida. Those who have fallen ill range from age 0 to 103. (Those in the zero age range are less than 1.) The county has had 781 hospitalizations and 183 deaths, the state’s highest death toll.
Broward County reported seven additional confirmed cases of the disease, raising the county total of confirmed cases to 3,466. Health officials say 3,351 are residents and 115 are non-residents. Those who have fallen ill range from 0 to 99. The county has had 101 deaths and 613 hospitalizations.
Palm Beach County had 26 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the county total to 1,867. Health officials say 1,814 are residents, 51 are non-residents and two are residents who are not in Florida. Those who have fallen ill range from 0 to 104. The county has had 339 hospitalizations and 112 deaths.
Monroe County did not report any new confirmed cases of the disease. The county has 66 known cases of COVID-19. Only six of them are non-residents. Those who have fallen ill range from age 14 to 80. The Florida Keys have had three deaths and nine hospitalizations.
This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 11:12 AM.
