Florida confirms 738 new COVID-19 cases, lowest single-day count since early June
Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 738 additional cases of COVID-19, the lowest single-day count seen since early June. Also, five new Florida resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident toll to 14,037.
The state has now confirmed a total of 701,302 COVID-19 cases. There were also no new non-resident deaths, leaving the cumulative non-resident toll at 170.
Monday’s single day count of newly confirmed cases is the lowest reported since June 2 with 617 cases. On Monday, Florida’s Department of Health also reported the results of 20,991 people on Sunday, less than half of what was counted the previous day.
While fewer tests are usually processed during the weekend and sometimes also causes Monday to see a smaller case count, Florida hasn’t reported tests in the 20,000-range since early to mid-June. Even then, tests in the 20,000s and less were more common in May, when single-day case counts were typically less than 1,000.
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 40 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and reduced its death toll by three, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 169,466 confirmed cases and 3,228 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 2.70%. The 14-day positivity average is 4.30%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” Dashboard.
It was not immediately clear what caused the death toll decrease, but health officials have previously said that decreases sometimes occur when investigators determine that the person was a resident of another county. Florida’s Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
▪ Broward County reported 20 additional confirmed cases of the disease and one new death. The county has a known total of 76,874 cases and 1,380 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 1.74%
▪ Palm Beach County saw 27 additional confirmed cases. The county now has 46,310 confirmed cases and has a 2.06% percent positivity for new cases. Its death toll has risen to 1,343 though there is a discrepancy in how many new deaths were added.
Florida’s county-by-county report lists five new deaths for Palm Beach County. However, when you compare Monday’s cumulative death toll (1,343) to Sunday’s cumulative toll of (1,342) there is a one death difference. Florida’s Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
▪ Monroe County confirmed two additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 1,837 cases and 22 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 3.33%
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 providing only 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 2:30 p.m. Monday, there were 2,119 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. This is a significant decrease from early August, when more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Thursday’s hospitalizations, 236 were in Miami-Dade, 198 in Broward, 115 in Palm Beach and four in Monroe counties, according to the agency.
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 Monday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 342 to 325, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Monday’s data, 37 people were discharged and 30 people were admitted.
The state has had 43,606 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
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 positivity 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 Monday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 20,991 people tested on Sunday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) was 4.23%.
If retests are included — people who have tested positive once and are being tested for a second time — the positivity rate was 5.37% of the total, the report said.
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Florida confirms 738 new COVID-19 cases, lowest single-day count since early June."
