Florida adds 8,720 new COVID cases as positivity, hospitalizations increase
Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 8,720 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,658,169. Also, 153 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 25,446.
Three new non-resident deaths also were announced. On Monday, the cumulative non-resident toll was 403.
According to the state’s Monday COVID-19 vaccine report, 1,565,383 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and 157,972 people have completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Of those who completed the two-dose vaccination, 23,768 were Miami-Dade residents, 17,750 were Broward residents and 323 were Monroe residents.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 2,030 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 17 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 360,831 confirmed cases and 4,747 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.58% to 8.18%
▪ Broward County reported 967 additional confirmed cases of the disease and 11 new deaths. The county has a known total of 167,025 cases and 2,045 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 8.72% to 8.95%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 601 additional confirmed cases and 25 new deaths. The county now has 102,968 confirmed cases and 2,123 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 8.33% to 9.05%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 26 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 5,184 cases and 39 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 5.90% to 9.23%.
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 2:30 p.m. Monday, there were 6,898 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. This is near mid-August levels, when more than 7,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Monday’s hospitalizations, 969 were in Miami-Dade, 635 in Broward, 462 in Palm Beach and nine in Monroe, according to the agency.
The state has had a total of 70,346 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 Monday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 109,008 people tested on Sunday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 8.26% to 9.56%.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Florida adds 8,720 new COVID cases as positivity, hospitalizations increase."
