Florida reports 3,377 coronavirus cases, and 20 deaths push resident toll to 16,449
Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 3,377 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 782,013. Also, 20 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 16,449.
It is still unclear if there were any new non-resident deaths. On Sunday, the cumulative non-resident toll was at 203.
Florida has seen some increase in newly confirmed cases this month, though Mondays usually see a lower case count compared to other days in the week because fewer people work in labs and enter data on the weekends. However, while Monday’s single-day count is not the highest recorded in October, it is the biggest increase reported on a Monday since Aug. 10 when 4,155 cases were added.
The state’s percent positivity for new cases — people who tested positive for the first time —increased from 4.71% to 5.94%, according to the Florida Department of Health. The percent positivity in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties also saw an increase.
Here’s 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 581 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 182,523 confirmed cases and 3,615 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases rose from 3.41% to 5.76%. The 14-day percent positivity average was 4.43%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” Dashboard.
▪ Broward County reported 512 additional confirmed cases of the disease and one new death. The county has a known total of 83,962 cases and 1,521 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases rose from 4.53% to 7.08%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 291 additional confirmed cases and one new death. The county now has 50,816 confirmed cases and 1,562 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases rose from 5.17% to 6.18%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 13 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 2,199 cases and 25 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases rose from 6.72% to 7.54%.
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 12:30 p.m. Monday, there were 2,252 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, 310 were in Miami-Dade, 199 in Broward, 134 in Palm Beach and six 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 increased from 369 to 395, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Monday’s data, 27 people were discharged and 42 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 48,281 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 61,509 people tested on Monday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 4.71% to 5.94%.
If retests are included — people who have tested positive once and are being tested for a second time — the positivity rate increased from 5.96% to 7.65%, according to the report.
This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Florida reports 3,377 coronavirus cases, and 20 deaths push resident toll to 16,449."
