Florida adds 2,908 new COVID-19 cases and 118 deaths as positivity rate drops
Florida’s Department of Health on Friday confirmed 2,908 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 728,921. Also, 118 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 15,186.
The numbers declined a bit compared to Thursday by 398 cases and 46 deaths.
There were no new non-resident deaths reported, leaving the non-resident toll at 186, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data & Surveillance Dashboard.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 391 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. That is 50 fewer cases compared to Thursday but three more deaths. The county now has 174,112 confirmed cases and 3,409 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases dropped from 4.24% to 4.08%.
▪ Broward County reported 181 additional confirmed cases of the disease and 12 new deaths. That is 59 fewer cases compared to Thursday but nine more deaths. The county has a known total of 78,795 cases and 1,455 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases fell from 3.57% to 2.7%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 123 additional confirmed cases and nine new deaths. That is 18 fewer cases and one more death compared to Thursday. The county now has 47,648 confirmed cases and 1,425 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases fell from 3.04% to 2.48%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 13 additional cases and one more death. That is six fewer cases but one more death compared to Thursday. The county has a known total of 1,927 cases and 24 deaths. Percent positivity for new rose from 5.11% to 5.91%.
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 11:15 a.m. Friday, there were 2,143 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard, a bump of two compared to Thursday afternoon. This is a significant decrease from early August, when more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Friday’s hospitalizations, 257 were in Miami-Dade (a drop of eight), 211 in Broward (a rise of six), 108 in Palm Beach (a drop by one) and three in Monroe (a rise of one), 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 Friday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications increased from 336 to 337, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Friday’s data, 48 people were discharged and 42 people were admitted.
The state has had 45,259 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
COVID-19 testing in Florida
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 Friday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 70,499 people tested on Thursday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 4.56% to 4.12%.
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 12:30 PM.
