State’s positivity rate increases to 11%; death toll passes 21,300

Florida’s Department of Health on Monday confirmed 8,198 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,280,177. Also, 96 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident toll to 21,308.

Three new nonresident deaths were also announced, bringing the nonresident toll to 305.

Monday’s single-day count is one of the lowest recorded in the past two weeks. Testing also went down and the statewide percent positivity went up to a level not seen since August.

Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’ progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders and loosen restrictions.

Epidemiologists use the testing data to create a positivity rate. The rate helps them determine if a rise in cases is because of an increase in testing or whether there’s increased transmission of the virus in the community.

On Monday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 84,568 people tested on Sunday, the lowest recorded in two weeks. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 9.71% to 11.08%

If retests are included, the positivity rate increased from 11.36% to 13.61%.

CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Miami-Dade County

● reported 2,057 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county has now had 290,363 confirmed cases and 4,155 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 9.82% to 10.80%.

Broward County re

● ported 583 additional confirmed cases and 11 new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 133,480 cases and 1,828 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from

8.63% to 8.39%.

Palm Beach County

● saw 626 additional confirmed cases and six new deaths. The county has 80,865 confirmed cases and 1,866 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.31% to 10.38%.

Monroe County con

● firmed 15 additional cases and one new death. The county has a known total of 4,168 cases and 35 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 4.98% to 4.08%.

COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS IN FLORIDA

One of the tools that officials rely on to determine whether the coronavirus situation is improving in the state is hospitalization data. Unlike testing, which might be limited or takes days to report results, hospitalizations can help give officials a real-time snapshot of how many people are severely ill with COVID-19.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports the number of patients hospitalized statewide with a “primary diagnosis of COVID.” The data, which is updated at least every hour, does not distinguish between the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital intensive care units and those in acute-care beds, which require less attention from nurses.

As of 3:16 p.m. Monday, there were 6,109 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. This number is at August levels, when more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.

Of Monday’s hospitalizations, 1,017 were in Miami-Dade, 561 in Broward, 333 in Palm Beach and two in Monroe, according to the agency.

The state has had a total of 61,663 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.