Florida sees over 11,000 cases, and 120 new deaths move toll closer to 20,800
Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed 11,384 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,234,399. Also, 120 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident toll to 20,754.
One new non-resident death was also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 299.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 2,243 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the county’s known total to 280,982, according to Florida’s Department of Health. One new death was announced, bringing the toll to 4,096. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.52% to 7.44%.
▪ Broward County reported 934 additional confirmed cases and four new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 129,897 cases and 1,796 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 6.25% to 6.40%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 444 additional confirmed cases and seven new deaths. The county has 78,187 confirmed cases and 1,842 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.15% to 7.43%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 31 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 4,083 cases and 33 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 7.02% to 5.54%.
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 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 2:16 p.m. Wednesday, there were 5,590 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 Wednesday’s hospitalizations, 988 were in Miami-Dade, 494 in Broward, 315 in Palm Beach and three in Monroe, according to the agency.
The state has had a total of 60,800 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 Wednesday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 147,060 people tested on Tuesday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 8.77% to 8.62%%.
If retests are included, the positivity rate decreased from 10.82% to 10.73%%.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Florida sees over 11,000 cases, and 120 new deaths move toll closer to 20,800."
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