Florida reports 13,148 coronavirus cases, most seen since mid July
Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 13,148 additional cases of COVID-19, the most seen since mid-July.
The state now has a total of 1,168,483 confirmed cases. Also, 101 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the statewide resident toll to 20,305.
Three new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 289.
Thursday’s single-day case count is the most reported since July 16, when 13,965 cases were added. The state reported more —17,344 cases — on Nov. 27, but that total included two days of data because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Florida has the third highest number of total confirmed cases in the country after Texas and California, according to the New York Times COVID-19 database.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 2,582 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. This is the ninth day in a row that Miami-Dade has reported more than 2,000 cases. The county now has 267,255 confirmed cases and 4,022 deaths. The percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.97% to 8.84%.
▪ Broward County reported 1,108 additional confirmed cases and three new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 123,991 cases and 1,760 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 7.47% to 7.22%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 791 additional confirmed cases and eight new deaths. The county has 74,789 confirmed cases and 1,804 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.32% to 7.23%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 45 additional cases and two new deaths. The county has a known total of 3,935 cases and 32 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 9.63% to 10.55%.
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 takes 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 2:45 p.m. Thursday, there were 5,127 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. This number is at mid-August levels, when more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Thursday’s hospitalizations, 933 were in Miami-Dade, 541 in Broward, 278 in Palm Beach and three 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 Thursday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 1,008 to 1,003, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Thursday’s data, 153 people were discharged and 137 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 59,291 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 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 whether there’s increased transmission of the virus in the community.
On Thursday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 169,326 people tested on Wednesday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 9.28% to 8.84%.
If retests are included, the positivity rate decreased from 11.30% to 10.50%.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 2:41 PM.
