Miami-Dade tops 150,000 coronavirus cases as Florida total grows by 4,684
Miami-Dade now tops 150,000 coronavirus cases. Florida’s Department of Health on Friday also announced 119 COVID-related resident deaths statewide — two more than Thursday — to bring the state’s resident death toll to 10,168.
There were also 4,684 additional cases of COVID-19 confirmed — a bump of 129 compared to Thursday’s new cases — bringing the state’s known total to 593,286.
There were no new non-resident deaths to announce, leaving the non-resident toll at 137.
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in South Florida
Note: The Florida Department of Health says that each county’s percent positivity for new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) does not include retests (people who have tested positive once and are being tested for a second time).
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,143 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 34 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. Both numbers are up over Thursday’s report by 74 and 15, respectively. The county now has 150,305 confirmed cases and 2,219 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 9.53%, a small decline from Thursday.
▪ Broward County reported 474 additional confirmed cases of the disease and 17 new deaths. Those numbers represent 60 fewer new cases than reported Thursday but 15 more deaths. The county now has a known total of 68,542 cases and 1,068 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 6.75%, a drop from Thursday’s 7.28%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 271 additional confirmed cases and 9 new deaths. Those numbers represent 47 more cases but eight fewer deaths than reported on Thursday. The county now has 40,157 confirmed cases and 1,048 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 5.18%, a small decline.
▪ Monroe County reported 12 additional cases of the disease and no new deaths, according to the health department. That’s three more cases than reported Thursday. The Florida Keys now have 1,687 confirmed cases and remain at 14 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 6%, a rise from Thursday’s 4.26%.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida
One of the tools that officials rely on to determine whether the coronavirus situation is improving in the state is hospitalization data. Unlike testing, which might be limited or take days to report results, hospitalizations can help give officials a real-time snapshot of how many people are severely ill with COVID-19.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports the number of patients hospitalized statewide with a “primary diagnosis of COVID.” The data, which is updated at least every hour, does not distinguish between the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital intensive care units and those in acute-care beds, which require less attention from nurses.
Previously, the state was only providing the total number of hospitalizations in its statewide and county-level data. Miami-Dade was an exception, with hospitals self-reporting a number of key metrics, including hospitalizations, to the county, which has made this data public for several months.
As of 12:15 p.m. Friday, there were 4,903 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. That’s a decline of 164 compared to the same time on Thursday.
Of those, 937 were in Miami-Dade, 664 in Broward, 288 in Palm Beach and holding at four in Monroe counties, according to the agency. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach all dropped cumulatively by 60.
Florida’s current hospitalization data does not always match the hospitalization data reported in Miami-Dade’s “New Normal” dashboard. Officials say this could be for a number of reasons including the frequency of daily updates.
On Friday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 1,136 to 1,103, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Friday’s data, 122 people were discharged, fewer than Thursday’s 150, and 83 people were admitted, more than Thursday’s 67.
The state has had a total of 35,997 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. That’s a statewide increase of 347.
COVID-19 testing in Florida
Testing in Florida has seen steady growth since the COVID-19 crisis began.
Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’ progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders and loosen restrictions.
Epidemiologists then use the testing data to create a positive rate. The rate helps them determine if a rise in cases is because of an increase in testing, or if it means there’s increased transmission of the virus in the community.
On Friday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 69,695 people tested on Thursday. The positive rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) was 6.79%.
To date, 4,373,944 people have been tested in Florida. Of the total tested, 593,286 (13.56%) have tested positive.
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 11:34 AM.
