Weekly COVID update: South Florida moves to low risk levels for community transmission
As COVID cases and hospitalizations continue on a downward trend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lowered the risk of community transmission to its lowest level in South Florida.
In the past seven days, the state has added 1,671 cases and 154 deaths per day, on average, according to Miami Herald calculations of data published by the CDC.
Over the past three weeks, on average, 269 fewer new cases were logged each day in Florida, showing a decrease in trends.
As of Tuesday, March 8, more than 14,190,000 people are fully vaccinated in Florida. The state has logged at least 5,820,320 cases and 71,326 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.
The number of cases is likely an undercount due to positive results from at-home COVID testing. The state also only tracks resident cases and deaths, excluding nonresidents.
Here’s a breakdown of what to know this week:
COVID spread in South Florida
Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe and Manatee counties have a low COVID risk level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is down a risk level from last week, when the CDC reported the five counties under a medium risk level. The low risk level is the lowest of the CDC’s three levels: low, medium and high.
Under this risk level, the CDC no longer offers recommendations for the use of masks. It does advise to maintain improved ventilation while indoors when possible.
For the immunocompromised, the CDC recommends to have a plan for rapid testing and to talk to your doctor about treatments like oral antivirals, PrEP and monoclonal antibodies.
It does note, however, that “at all levels, people can wear a mask based on personal preference, informed by personal level of risk. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.”
South Florida and Manatee County COVID-19 Cases
From Feb. 25 to March 3, Florida has seen 13,956 new cases, according to Miami Herald calculations of the Florida Department of Health’s weekly situation report published Friday. New cases were 45% less than those added the previous week.
Here’s a breakdown of how many new COVID cases were reported in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the report.
▪ Miami-Dade reported 2,121 new resident cases in the week ending March 3. The county’s resident case total is 1,171,903. Cases added were 34% less than those added in the previous week.
From Feb. 23 to March 1, 94,414 tests were administered, the CDC reported. This may be an undercount due to delayed reporting, the agency said. Testing decreased by 12.7% from the previous week.
▪ Broward reported 1,095 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 596,696. Cases added were 30% less than those added the previous week.
From Feb. 23 through March 1, 44,868 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 5.63% from the previous week.
▪ Palm Beach reported 926 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total stands at 363,456. Cases added were 26% less than those added the previous week.
From Feb. 23 through March 1, 24,912 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 5.49% from the previous week.
▪ Monroe reported 30 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 17,871. Cases added were 62% less than those added the previous week.
From Feb. 23 through March 1, 1,173 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing rose by 10.56% from the previous week.
▪ Manatee reported 297 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 94,633. Cases added were 35% less than those added the previous week.
From Feb. 23 through March 1, 5,966 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 14.82% from the previous week.
South Florida and Manatee County COVID deaths
Florida has added 1,207 deaths in the last week, according to Herald calculations of the CDC’s Community Profile Report published Tuesday.
It is unclear when these newly reported deaths occurred. The Community Profile Report updates Florida’s county tolls and rates about once every seven days.
As of Tuesday’s Community Profile Report, Florida had a rate of 332 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people since the start of the pandemic. Two weeks ago, the state had a rate of 321 deaths per 100,000 people.
Here’s where death rates and tolls stand in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the CDC.
▪ Miami-Dade’s death toll is 10,540, an increase of 117 deaths from Friday’s report. That’s a rate of 388 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic.
▪ Broward’s death toll is 5,662, an increase of 75. That’s a rate of 290 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Palm Beach’s death toll is 4,911, an increase of 55. That’s a rate of 328 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Monroe’s death toll is 114; it had no new deaths. The county would be at a death rate of 154 deaths per 100,000 people if its population were that large.
▪ Manatee’s death toll is 1,383, an increase of 23. Manatee has a rate of 343 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of people hospitalized with COVID has also been decreasing. There were 2,033 people hospitalized in Florida, with 375 in the ICU, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services report on Tuesday.
Although newly reported cases during the omicron surge surpassed those reported during delta’s, hospitalizations have not.
At delta’s August peak, more than 15,000 patients were hospitalized in Florida, according to HHS data.
Miami-Dade County no longer collects and reports COVID hospitalizations data in its “COVID-19 Daily Dashboard.”
Florida COVID-19 vaccinations
About 14,197,009 eligible Floridians — 66.1% 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 CDC.
About 5,443,076 Floridians have received a booster, about 38.4% of the state’s fully vaccinated population.
Here’s how many people have received a booster in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the CDC:
▪ In Miami-Dade, about 721,691 people, or 31.7% of the fully vaccinated population, have received a booster.
▪ In Broward, about 515,846 people have received a booster, or 37.5% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Palm Beach, about 402,951 people have received a booster, or 41.1% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Monroe, about 20,784 people have received a booster, or 36.1% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Manatee, about 104,810 people have received a booster, or 42.6% of the fully vaccinated population.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 1:39 PM.
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)