Florida confirms 10,434 coronavirus cases, and 74 resident deaths push toll past 20,700
Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 10,434 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,223,015. Also, 74 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident toll to 20,754.
Two new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 298.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 2,325 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the county’s known total to 278,739, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county’s death toll was reduced by two, bringing the toll to 4,095. It is still unclear what caused the death toll reduction. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 8.45% to 8.51%.
▪ Broward County reported 806 additional confirmed cases and eight new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 128,963 cases and 1,792 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decrease from 6.46% to 6.25%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 502 additional confirmed cases and no new deaths. The county has 77,743 confirmed cases and 1,835 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 6.86% to 7.14%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 12 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 4,052 cases and 33 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 4.55% to 7.02%.
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.
As of 2:46 p.m. Tuesday, there were 5,633 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 Tuesday’s hospitalizations, 1,002 were in Miami-Dade, 500 in Broward, 316 in Palm Beach and five in Monroe, according to the agency.
The state has had a total of 60,471 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 Tuesday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 133,229 people tested on Monday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 8.45% to 8.78%.
If retests are included, the positivity rate decreased from 10.83% to 10.82%.
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Florida confirms 10,434 coronavirus cases, and 74 resident deaths push toll past 20,700."
