Florida adds 7,711 COVID cases and 228 deaths as percent positivity ticks up
Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 7,711 additional cases of COVID-19. The state’s known total is now 1,752,330.
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 228 resident deaths to bring the resident death toll to 27,247.
The state reduced the number of new non-resident deaths by two to 451. On Wednesday, the state put the figure at 453 but did not say why it reduced it on Thursday. The state’s cumulative number of deaths is now 27,698.
Coronavirus vaccines in Florida
According to the state’s Thursday COVID-19 vaccination report, 1,364,494 people received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and 478,236 people have completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. According to the state, that means 1,842,730 have been vaccinated.
Of those who completed the two-dose vaccination, 74,019 were Miami-Dade County residents, 41,857 were Broward residents, 34,905 were Palm Beach residents and 2,103 were Monroe residents.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,447 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 23 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 377,999 confirmed cases and 4,942 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.34% to 7.74%. The 14-day percent positivity average went from 8.14% to 8.19%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard.
▪ Broward County reported 838 additional confirmed cases of the disease and 14 new deaths. The county has a known total of 176,144 cases and 2,139 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.08% to 9.36%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 634 additional confirmed cases and 26 new deaths. The county now has 109,219 confirmed cases and 2,238 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.66% to 9.82%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 12 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 5,425 cases and 41 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 3.88% to 8.67%.
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 7:45 a.m. Thursday, there were 5,790 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. While hospitalizations are showing a 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 Thursday’s hospitalizations, 869 were in Miami-Dade, 643 in Broward, 392 in Palm Beach and five in Monroe, according to the agency. The numbers of hospitalizations have been on a downward trend.
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 Thursday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 957 to 949, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Thursday’s data, 131 people were discharged and 90 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 Thursday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 86,631 people tested on Wednesday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 7.77% to 8.76%.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Florida adds 7,711 COVID cases and 228 deaths as percent positivity ticks up."
