Florida COVID update for Friday: More than 200 deaths push toll past 30,000
Florida’s Department of Health on Friday reported 224 COVID-19 deaths, pushing the death toll past 30,000. Also reported were 6,683 new confirmed cases of the disease.
Of the new deaths announced, 218 were residents. Florida has now recorded a known total of 1,856,427 cases and 30,214 total deaths. Of those deaths, 29,692 are residents and 522 are non-residents.
On Friday, the state reported the results of 134,869 residents tested on Thursday. The state’s percent positivity for first-time testers decreased from 6.39% to 5.85%.
More than 1.2 million Floridians have completed the two-dose vaccination series of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, while over 1.3 million people have received the first dose.
COVID-19 in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,550 new cases and 28 deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 399,593 cases and 5,270 deaths. In Miami-Dade, 109,986 people have received the first vaccine dose and 149,168 people have completed the two-dose series. Percent positivity increased from 6.02% to 6.15%.
▪ Broward County added 784 cases and 13 deaths, moving its totals to 188,216 cases and 2,310 deaths. In Broward, 93,684 people have received the first vaccine dose and 128,200 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.61% to 6.31%.
▪ Palm Beach County reported 476 new cases and 11 deaths, bringing its cumulative count to 116,685 cases and 2,394 deaths. In Palm Beach, 125,532 people have received the first vaccine dose and 116,515 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.15% to 6.11%.
▪ Monroe County added 24 new cases and no new deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are 5,657 cases and 44 deaths. In Monroe, 5,240 people have received the first vaccine dose and 5,310 have completed the series. Percent positivity increased from 2.43% to 5.12%.
Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations
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.
Government officials use current hospitalizations to decide the next action in dealing with the pandemic.
As of 2:31 p.m. Friday, the agency said there were 4,298 people hospitalized. Of these, Miami-Dade had 681; Broward, 576; Palm Beach, 317; and Monroe, five, the agency said.
According to Miami-Dade’s New Normal Dashboard, county hospitals have reported 765 COVID-19 patients, up from 744 on Thursday. There were 100 new patients and 144 were discharged.
State hospitalization data doesn’t always match Miami-Dade’s New Normal Dashboard data for various reasons, including the frequency of daily updates.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 2:32 PM.
