Florida adds 10,533 COVID cases, resuming upward trend, but fewer deaths reported
Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 10,533 additional cases of COVID-19 — almost twice as many as reported Monday, which had been the lowest single-day count since November. The state’s known total is now at 1,737,640.
Florida is the third-highest state in the country in terms of cases after California and Texas, according to the New York Times database of U.S. cases.
Additionally, the state announced 137 resident deaths, a drop from Monday’s 206, bringing the resident death toll to 26,822.
Three new non-resident deaths were also announced Tuesday, bringing the non-resident toll to 447 and the state’s cumulative number of deaths to 27,269.
Coronavirus vaccines in Florida
According to the state’s Tuesday COVID-19 vaccination report, 1,375,554 received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and 372,207 people have completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. According to the state, that means 1,747,761 have been vaccinated.
Of those who completed the two-dose vaccination, 59,038 were Miami-Dade County residents, 34,517 were Broward residents, 24,792 were Palm Beach residents and 676 were Monroe residents.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,899 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 375,322 confirmed cases and 4,907 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 7.72% to 7.7. The 14-day percent positivity average was 8.44%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard.
▪ Broward County reported 1,027 additional confirmed cases of the disease and four new deaths. The county has a known total of 174,679 cases and 2,119 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.72% to 8.19%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 554 additional confirmed cases and 32 new deaths. The county now has 108,173 confirmed cases and 2,199 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.09% to 7.84%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 20 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 5,392 cases and 40 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 2.58% to 7.48%.
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 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, there were 6,024 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. While hospitalizations are showing a slight decrease, this is still near mid-August levels, when more than 7,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted daily into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Tuesday’s hospitalizations, 916 were in Miami-Dade, 678 in Broward, 402 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 Tuesday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 1,011 to 1,004, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Tuesday’s data, 141 people were discharged and 101 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 72,858 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
Coronavirus testing in Florida
Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’ progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to 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 124,282 people tested on Monday — a bump up from the 81,136 figure reported from Sunday that was the lowest number of people tested in two weeks. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 8.39% to 8.36%.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Florida adds 10,533 COVID cases, resuming upward trend, but fewer deaths reported."
