Florida breaks single-day COVID record with 76,887 cases. Cases soar in South Florida
Florida’s omicron wave pushed the statewide COVID-19 case count to a pandemic high as the health department reported 76,887 cases and three deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of Florida’s Friday report to the CDC.
It was the second time in eight days that Florida reported the largest single-day increase in COVID cases, surpassing the previous record of 75,962 cases set on Dec. 31 — and underscoring the highly contagious nature of the omicron variant. Friday’s report was based on Thursday numbers.
In all, Florida has recorded at least 4,563,163 confirmed COVID cases and 62,625 deaths.
In the past seven days, as the omicron variant has circulated, the state has added 21 deaths and 56,743 cases per day on average, according to Herald calculations.
The CDC rates the community transmission for each Florida county as “high.”
To be considered at a high rate of transmission, new cases per 100,000 in the past seven days needs to be greater than or equal to 100, or the percentage of positive tests in the last seven days is greater than or equal to 10%.
All four South Florida counties are miles ahead of these standards.
From Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, Miami-Dade County had a case rate of 3,678 new cases per 100,000, according to the CDC. Broward County’s case rate during this period was 2,496. Palm Beach County’s case rate was 1,656, while Monroe County’s was 1,287.
From Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, Miami-Dade had a test positivity rate of 35.4%. Broward had a 38.3% positivity rate, Palm Beach, 37.7%, and Monroe, 34.1%.
Florida’s surging COVID case counts are likely to peak by mid-January at about 90,000 new cases a day, scientists at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute recently projected. The surge is due to the highly contagious omicron variant.
South Florida counties see soaring cases
Here’s a breakdown of how many new COVID-19 cases were reported this past week in South Florida and Manatee County. The Florida Department of Health includes county resident case totals in its weekly coronavirus report, which is released on Friday.
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 110,441 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 6, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. This is the highest number of new weekly cases that the county has reported since the pandemic began in March 2020. The county’s resident case total stands at 958,187.
New infections rose by 13%, far lower than the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6) when infections rose by 91%.
▪ Broward County reported 50,254 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 6, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. This is highest number of new weekly cases the county has reported. The county’s resident case total stands at 490,229.
New infections rose by 3%, far lower than the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6) when infections rose by 107%.
▪ Palm Beach County reported 29,147 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 6, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. This is the highest number of new weekly cases the county has reported. The county’s resident case total stands at 297,389.
New infections rose by 18%, far lower than the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6) when infections rose by 110%.
▪ Monroe County reported 1,734 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 6, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. This is the highest number of new weekly cases the county has reported. The county’s resident case total stands at 14,093.
New infections rose by 82%, far lower than the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6) when infections rose by 160%.
▪ Manatee County reported 4,561 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 6, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. The county’s resident case total stands at 74,266.
New infections rose by 60%, lower than the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6) when infections rose by 247%.
FLORIDA COVID VACCINE RATES
About 13,659,557 eligible Floridians — 63.6% 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, 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 2,193,942 people, or 80.8% of the county’s total population, are fully vaccinated.
▪ In Broward County, about 1,327,019 people are fully vaccinated, or 68% of the county’s population.
▪ In Palm Beach County, about 951,473 people are fully vaccinated, or 63.6% of the county’s population.
▪ In Monroe County, about 55,545 people are fully vaccinated, or 74.8% of the county’s population.
▪ In Manatee County, about 238,671 people are fully vaccinated, or 59.2% of the county’s population.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida
There were 8,914 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Friday report. This data is reported from 264 hospitals in Florida. The number of people hospitalized across the state is 508 more than the day prior, when 260 hospitals reported.
COVID-19 patients take up 15.46% of all inpatient beds in the latest report, compared to 14.45% among Thursday’s reporting hospitals.
Omicron, so far, is not as deadly as delta’s surge last summer. But Florida hospitalizations are approaching records set during delta’s wave from July through September.
At delta’s August peak, more than 15,000 people were hospitalized in Florida, with over 25% of all inpatient beds being filled by COVID patients, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Of the people hospitalized in Florida, 1,005 were in intensive-care units, an increase of 62 from Thursday. That represents about 16.19% of the state’s ICU beds, compared to 14.95% the previous day.
Miami Herald Staff Writer Daniel Chang contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 1:22 PM.
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