Miami-Dade COVID positivity percentage doubles as Florida adds 10,976 cases, 219 deaths
Florida’s Department of Health on Friday confirmed 10,976 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,698,570. Also, 219 resident deaths were announced, moving the resident death toll to 26,254.
Ten new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the cumulative non-resident toll to 431. The state’s total death toll is 26,685.
The Sunshine State has the third-highest case total after California and Texas and the fourth-highest death toll in the country, after New York, California and Texas, according to the New York Times database of U.S. cases.
The positivity percentages from Wednesday to Thursday doubled statewide and in Miami-Dade. Positivity rates nearly doubled in Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe in the day-to-day report.
According to the state’s Friday COVID-19 vaccine report, 1,332,746 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and 273,249 people have completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Of those who completed the two-dose vaccination, 41,045 were Miami-Dade residents, 28,799 were Broward residents, 17,513 were Palm Beach residents and 485 were Monroe residents.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 2,010 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 20 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 368,137 confirmed cases and 4,817 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.06% to 14.77%. The 14-day percent positivity average on Wednesday was 9%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard.
▪ Broward County reported 1,018 additional confirmed cases of the disease and two new deaths. The county has a known total of 170,709 cases and 2,071 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.33% to 13.52%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 847 additional confirmed cases and 14 new deaths. The county now has 105,540 confirmed cases and 2,166 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.96% to 12.22%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 26 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 5,288 cases and 40 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 6.64% to 11.17%.
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 11 a.m., Friday, there were 6,406 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 daily into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Friday’s hospitalizations, 950 were in Miami-Dade, 657 in Broward, 406 in Palm Beach and six 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 Friday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 1,064 to 1,033, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Friday’s data, 147 people were discharged and 91 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 71,535 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 Friday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 75,179 people tested on Thursday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 7.70% to 14.46%.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 2:56 PM.
