Florida COVID weekly report: Statewide cases and hospitalizations see decline
What is the COVID-19 situation like in Florida?
Cases, deaths and hospitalizations are going down statewide.
As of Thursday, March 2, an average of 1,645 cases per day were added in the past seven days, a 24% 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.
Florida county level data no longer will be available as the CDC announced the ending of the Community Profile Report last week.
Here’s a breakdown of what to know this week:
What’s the COVID risk in South Florida?
Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Palm Beach 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.
COVID hospitalization levels in Florida?
COVID hospitalizations have decreased in the state.
Of the 43,089 inpatient beds being used in Florida, 1,472, or about 3% 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 4,782 ICU beds in use, 176, or about 4%, are being used for COVID-19.
Florida COVID deaths
A total of 86,460 Florida residents have died from COVID since the pandemic began. There were 174 deaths recorded in the state in the CDC’s latest report.
What’s the dominant COVID variant?
From Feb. 26 to March 4, 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 14,915,281 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.
Florida cases
From Feb. 23 to March 1, Florida recorded 11,514 new cases, according to the CDC’s latest report.
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 6:20 PM.
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