Florida COVID update: State surpasses 4 million cases and breaks single-day case record
Florida reported 46,923 new COVID cases, the largest single-day increase of COVID cases since the pandemic began and nearly double the previous peak during the summer, when the deadly delta variant was surging, according to Wednesday’s report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on Miami Herald calculations of CDC data.
No new deaths were reported but the cases come a few days after the Christmas holiday weekend, when many friends and family gathered.
The state’s seven-day case average has grown consecutively since Dec. 10. On that day, the seven-day average was 1,700; it mushroomed to 30,356 on Tuesday, the highest seven-day average of new cases since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to Herald calculations. In the past seven days, the state has added 18 deaths on average.
South Florida leading state in new COVID cases
South Florida is leading the surge of COVID cases, according to Miami Herald calculations of state data. Last week, the three most populous counties in the state saw the biggest case increases — with new infections rising by 354% in Miami-Dade, 400% in Broward and 395% in Palm Beach for the week ended Dec. 23. Farther south, Monroe County saw a 250% case increase.
In all, Florida has recorded at least 4,012,152 confirmed COVID cases and 62,390 deaths. Wednesday’s report was the first time that Florida surpassed 4 million confirmed COVID cases.
Reaching the milestone of more than 40,000 cases a day came much sooner than projected. Three University of Florida researchers at the university’s Emerging Pathogens Institute produced four models of how the COVID situation may play out in Florida, based on a report they published on Dec. 17. The one constant was the omicron variant slowly growing through December, picking up in January and peaking in February at about 40,000 cases a day
During the delta wave, cases peaked in August when the state was adding, on average, about 23,000 cases a day.
U.S. record of new COVID cases
Florida’s surge coincides with a rapidly rising number of COVID cases across the country, fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant converging with the delta variant, coupled with holiday travel, family get-togethers and loosening of COVID safety protocols like masks. According to a New York Times database, the seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases scaled 267,000 on Tuesday, a U.S. record. This pushes past the old record of around 250,000, set in mid-January.
Omicron was first detected in South Africa in November and has spread around the globe. It’s now the dominant variant of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for nearly 60 percent of COVID cases, according to a report Tuesday from the CDC. That’s down slightly from the week ending Dec. 18, when the CDC said omicron accounted for 73 percent of U.S. cases.
But omicron has not proven to be as deadly as delta. Hospitalizations are not breaking nor nearing records set during delta’s wave in July through September.
At delta’s August peak, over 15,000 patients were hospitalized in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. On Wednesday, the state saw just under 4,000 people hospitalized for COVID.
Hospitalizations generally increase about two weeks after a spike in infections. Evidence suggests that omicron causes less severe illness, but experts emphasize that if more people get sick with even a mild case of COVID, then the number of those hospitalized is likely to grow.
South Florida reacts to case surge
The surge in South Florida cases has led to long lines at COVID testing sites and the opening of more testing sites, hospitals restricting visitors and businesses and governments re-instituting masks and other safety measures.
According to the Florida Department of Health’s weekly report, Miami-Dade reported 52,435 new resident cases in the week ending Dec. 23, and Broward reported 23,532. Those are the highest weekly increases either county has seen since the state began releasing weekly reports in the beginning of June.
To meet demand for testing, Miami-Dade has expanded the hours at the Zoo Miami testing site to a 24/7 schedule and reopened the Miami-Dade Fairgrounds testing site at Tamiami Park, which had been temporarily closed. The Dolphin Station Park & Ride, 11897 NW 12th St., has also been transformed into a drive-thru site.
While Tamiami Park and Dolphin Station aren’t open 24/7, the county has four other 24/7 testing sites at Tropical Park, Miami International Airport, South Dade Government Center and the Dan Paul Plaza, 400 NE Eighth St.
On Tuesday, Jackson Health System ended visitations for most of its patients, only allowing visitors for pediatric, maternity and rehabilitation patients; patients in end-of-life care; scheduled minor outpatients or those who need a caregiver; patients with physical, intellectual, developmental or cognitive impairments or disabilities; and long-term care facility patients.
A Walmart Supercenter in Northwest Miami-Dade temporarily closed for specialized sanitation due to rising COVID-19 cases in South Florida. Temporary closures of businesses, schools and government buildings for extra cleanings became familiar sights during the pandemic last year.
FLORIDA COVID VACCINE RATES
About 13,592,919 eligible Floridians — 63.3% of the state’s population — have completed the two-dose series of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
VACCINATIONS IN SOUTH FLORIDA AND MANATEE COUNTY
Here’s how many people have been fully vaccinated in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the CDC.
▪ In Miami-Dade County, about 2,182,912 people, or 80.3% of the county’s total population, are fully vaccinated.
▪ In Broward County, about 1,320,275 people are fully vaccinated, or 67.6% of the county’s population.
▪ In Palm Beach County, about 947,354 people are fully vaccinated, or 63.3% of the county’s population.
▪ In Monroe County, about 55,326 people are fully vaccinated, or 74.5% of the county’s population.
▪ In Manatee County, about 237,634 people are fully vaccinated, or 58.9% of the county’s population.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations in Florida
There were 3,836 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Wednesday report. This data is reported from 231 Florida hospitals. That’s 688 more than Tuesday’s report from 234 Florida hospitals.
COVID-19 patients take up 7.22% of all inpatient beds in the latest report, compared to 6.06% among Tuesday’s reporting hospitals.
Of the people hospitalized in Florida, 399 were in intensive care unit beds, an increase of 65 from Tuesday’s report. That represents about 7.45% of the state’s ICU hospital beds, compared to 6.70% the previous day.
Wednesday’s Miami-Dade County report said there were 1,104 COVID patients in the county’s hospitals on Tuesday, an increase of 194 from the previous day. Of the 331 new COVID patients, 215 (64.95%) had not been vaccinated. Intensive care patients numbered 123, an increase of 30 from the previous day.
Broward County’s Wednesday report said there were 732 COVID patients in the county’s hospitals, an increase of 110 patients compared to Tuesday’s report.
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 1:30 PM.
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