Florida COVID weekly update: Statewide cases, hospitalizations continue ticking down
What is the COVID situation like in Florida?
Cases, deaths and hospitalizations are going down.
As of Thursday, Feb. 16, an average of 2,168 cases per day were added in the past seven days, a 28% decrease from the average of two weeks ago, according to Miami Herald calculations of data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
READ MORE: COVID shots now on CDC list of routine vaccines for kids, adults. What does that mean?
The number of cases is likely an undercount because the data doesn’t include positive results from at-home COVID testing. The state tracks only resident cases and deaths, excluding nonresident information.
Here’s a breakdown of what to know this week:
What’s the COVID risk in South Florida?
Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Manatee counties remained at a low risk level of virus transmission in the last week.
The CDC no longer recommends wearing masks at this level.
Palm Beach County remained at a medium risk level.
At this level, the CDC recommends that those at high risk of severe illness talk with their doctors about whether to wear a mask or take other precautions.
COVID hospitalization levels in Florida?
COVID hospitalizations have decreased in the state.
Of the 43,005 inpatient beds being used in Florida, 1,819, or about 4% of the beds, are being used for COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as of Thursday.
Of the 4,644 ICU beds in use, 218, or about 5%, are being used for COVID-19.
Florida COVID deaths
A total of 86,012 Florida residents have died from COVID since the pandemic began. There were 302 deaths recorded in the state in the CDC’s latest report.
It is unclear when these newly reported deaths occurred. The Community Profile Report updates Florida’s county death tolls about once every seven days.
What’s the dominant COVID variant?
From Feb. 12 to Feb. 18, the XBB.1.5 strain was the most dominant strain in the United States, including in the Southeast region, which includes Florida.
Florida COVID vaccination levels
About 14,909,632 eligible Floridians — 69.4% 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.
South Florida and Manatee County cases
From Feb. 9 to Feb 16, Florida recorded 15,175 new cases, according to Miami Herald calculations of the CDC’s Community Profile Report published Friday.
Here’s a breakdown of the new COVID cases in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the report.
▪ Miami-Dade reported 2,719 new resident cases in the week ending Feb. 16, reaching a cumulative total of 1,535,293 since March 2020, when the pandemic began. New cases were 23.24% fewer than those added in the previous week.
▪ Broward reported 1,442 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 767,854. New cases were 6.79% fewer than those added in the previous week.
▪ Palm Beach reported 1,236 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 476,558. New cases were 2.29% fewer than those added in the previous week.
▪ Monroe reported 46 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 22,732. New cases were 13.21% fewer than those added in the previous week.
▪ Manatee reported 294 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 122,390. New cases were 8.09% more than those added in the previous week.
This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 6:08 PM.
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