Florida adds 4,115 new cases of COVID-19 cases and 66 deaths, as testing bumps up
Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed 4,115 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 790,426. Also, 66 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 16,505.
The state did not report any new non-resident deaths so the non-resident toll remains at 204.
Florida has seen increases in newly confirmed cases this month. The state’s percent positivity for new daily cases — people who tested positive for the first time — decreased Wednesday from Tuesday’s 6.28% to 5.43%, according to the Florida Department of Health. Testing on a day-to-day basis also saw some increase from 68,332 to 75,067.
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 746 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, which is 19 more than Tuesday’s figure, and one new death, eight fewer than Tuesday, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 183,996 confirmed cases and 3,625 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 5.59% to 5.39%. The 14-day percent positivity average was 4.55%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” Dashboard.
▪ Broward County reported 645 additional confirmed cases of the disease, a rise of 269 compared to Tuesday, bringing is total to 84,983 cases. The county did not report any new deaths, leaving its death count at 1,520. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 5.80% to 7.39%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 243 additional confirmed cases, 113 fewer than Tuesday, and three new deaths. The county now has 51,415 confirmed cases and 1,568 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.27% to 4.95%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 15 additional cases, the same as Tuesday, and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 2,229 cases and 25 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 5.73% to 6.88%.
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 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, there were 2,340 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard, a rise of 25 from Tuesday afternoon. This is a decrease from early August, when more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Wednesday’s hospitalizations, 330 were in Miami-Dade, a drop of two; holding steady at 210 in Broward; 131 in Palm Beach, a drop of five; and holding steady at four in Monroe, 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 Wednesday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 420 to 415, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Wednesday’s data, 51 people were discharged and 56 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 48,722 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 Wednesday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 75,067 people tested on Tuesday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 6.28% to 5.43%.
This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Florida adds 4,115 new cases of COVID-19 cases and 66 deaths, as testing bumps up."
