South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Florida death toll climbs to over 5,000
The COVID-19 death toll in Florida topped 5,000 people on Saturday, state officials reported.
That grim milestone was reached after the state listed 90 more resident deaths in its latest coronavirus pandemic data report.
Overall, 4,895 state residents and 107 nonresidents have died from COVID-19 complications. In just this week, there have been 701 fatalities added to the report, or an average of 100 deaths per day.
The Florida Department of Health also said another 10,328 people were diagnosed with infections. That brings the total tally to at least 337,569 cases. The state and U.S. record for one day is 15,300 cases, reported July 12.
Gov. Ron DeSantis complained Saturday that national headlines about the virus record unfairly frightened people, because the news lacked the “appropriate context and perspective.”
During a news conference at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, the governor said the public needs to know a big reason for the record cases was the state received 143,000 test COVID-19 test results that day. He also noted that day’s percentage of positive tests — indicating the prevalence of the disease — was higher than desired at 14%.
“It’s important to put that in context because I think a lot of people see cases I think they get really, really scared, and my message is fear is our enemy,” DeSantis said. “And I think the other thing that gets missed with the cases is the sheer number of people who are testing who aren’t sick. Because I think most people see cases and they think that many people are in the hospital.”
South Florida
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 5,061 new cases in the past day, or 49% of the daily total for the state, according to the state Department of Health.
Broward County: 1,218 new coronavirus cases reported Saturday, bringing the total to 38,131. A total of 511 people have died, 11 more since Friday.
Palm Beach County: 684 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 25,045. A total of 680 people have died, seven more since Friday.
Miami-Dade County: 3,159 new cases, bringing the total to 81,026. A total of 1,289 people have died. That’s four more than the toll listed in Friday’s report.