COVID positivity declines in South Florida as state adds 7,023 cases and 233 deaths
Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 7,023 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,790,758.
Also, 233 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 28,048. That’s the most deaths announced in a day since Jan 22 when 278 were reported.
Six new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 478 and the cumulative state non-resident total to 28,526.
The positivity rate declined in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach but headed up in the Florida Keys. Monroe’s cases of the novel coronavirus now top 5,500.
Vaccines in Florida
According to the state’s Tuesday COVID-19 vaccine report, 1,300,820 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and 756,344 people have completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Of those who completed the two-dose vaccination, 101,678 were Miami-Dade residents, 70,914 were Broward residents, 67,023 were Palm Beach residents and 3,547 were Monroe residents.
According to a New York Times vaccine rollout map, 9.2% of Floridians have been given at least one dose of the COVID vaccines and 2.9% received two doses as of Monday.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,454 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 19 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. That’s a drop in both figures compared to Monday. The county now has 386,425 confirmed cases and 5,058 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 7.42% to 6.72%.
▪ Broward County reported 756 additional confirmed cases of the disease and seven new deaths, also a drop compared to Monday. The county has a known total of 180,501 cases and 2,192 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.40% to 7.24%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 379 additional confirmed cases and eight new deaths, dropping from Monday. The county now has 111,816 confirmed cases and 2,277 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 6.75% to 5.6%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 18 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 5,505 cases and 42 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 4.29% to 7.57%.
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 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, there were 5,326 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard.
Of Monday’s hospitalizations, 841 were in Miami-Dade, 611 in Broward, 390 in Palm Beach and three in Monroe, according to the agency.
The state has had a total of 74,884 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 Tuesday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 101,604 people tested on Monday. That is a higher number than on Sunday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 7.37% to 6.93%.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 2:38 PM with the headline "COVID positivity declines in South Florida as state adds 7,023 cases and 233 deaths."
