Florida sees COVID cases drop below 2,000 again, and new deaths push toll near 15,000
Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 1,415 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 717,874. Also, 41 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 14,712.
No new non-resident deaths were announced, leaving the cumulative non-resident toll at 174.
There is a discrepancy in the number of resident deaths between the state’s dashboard and the state’s county-by-county coronavirus report, which has 16 additional resident deaths to the count. Nine of those additional deaths are listed under Miami-Dade and three are listed under Palm Beach County. The Florida Department of Health did not immediately respond to the Miami Herald’s request for clarification.
Monday’s case count is the lowest reported since last Monday (Sept. 28) when 738 cases were added. It is also the second consecutive day that Florida reports cases in the 1,000’s.
Fewer tests are usually processed during the weekend and sometimes also cause Monday to see a smaller case count. And just like last week, Monday’s testing also saw some decrease.
Florida’s positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) saw a slight uptick, going from 3.75% to 3.93%.
Here’s a breakdown on what you need to know:
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 193 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. The county now has 172,398 confirmed cases and 3,334 deaths. Note that there is a death count discrepancy between the dashboard and the county-by-county PDF. Percent positivity for new cases: 3.03%. The 14-day percent positivity average is 4.76%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” Dashboard.
▪ Broward County reported 78 additional confirmed cases of the disease and three new deaths. The county has a known total of 78,012 cases and 1,423 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases: 2.73%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 74 additional confirmed cases and no new deaths, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. The county now has 47,153 confirmed cases and 1,394 deaths. Note that there is a death count discrepancy between the dashboard and the county-by-county PDF.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 11 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 1,880 cases and 22 deaths.
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 1:30 p.m. Monday, there were 2,112 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 Monday’s hospitalizations, 267 were in Miami-Dade, 204 in Broward, 96 in Palm Beach and two 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 saw a slight increase from 334 to 338, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Monday’s data, 25 people were discharged and 30 people were admitted.
The state has had 44,775 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 38,830 people tested on Sunday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) saw a slight uptick, going from 3.75% to 3.93%.
If retests are included — people who have tested positive once and are being tested for a second time — the positivity rate rose from 5.10% to 5.16% of the total, the report said.
This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Florida sees COVID cases drop below 2,000 again, and new deaths push toll near 15,000."
