South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Florida reports 7,515 new cases, nearly half from a month earlier
Florida’s new coronavirus cases appeared to be leveling off with the latest report down slightly from Friday.
Florida reported 7,515 new coronavirus cases on Saturday and another 118 new resident deaths linked to COVID-19. The state has now reported 1,821,937 cases since the pandemic began.
A month ago on Jan. 12, Florida reported 14,896 new cases. In addition, the sevenday average for new cases has been declining since Jan. 8 when it reached 17,991.
South Florida
South Florida reported
3,192 new cases on Saturday. Palm Beach County: 626 additional cases and 7 more deaths. The county now has
114,083 confirmed cases and
2,364 deaths, including 42 non-residents.
Broward County: 886 additional cases and 10 more deaths. Broward has a known total of 184,110 cases and 2,276 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. The death tally includes 37 non-residents.
Miami-Dade County:
1,680 additional cases and 20 new deaths. The county now has 392,842 confirmed cases and 5,173 deaths, including
32 non-residents.
Testing and positivity
Public health experts say the virus is considered under control when the COVID-19 test positivity rate is under 5%. But since Oct. 29, Florida has exceeded 5% in its widely publicized calculation for assessing the rate for testing of residents.
The state reported a daily positivity rate of 6.44% on Saturday, up from 6.22% the day before. This method of
calculating positivity counts new infections only, but also counts repeat negative tests, which skews the figure downward.
According to the state, the new reported case numbers reflect the results of 114,866
COVID-19 tests of Florida residents received from labs in the past day, down from
120,930 results reported the day before.
Palm Beach County: Test results for 8,044 residents were reported Saturday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 7.71%. That’s up from
6.36% the previous day. Broward County: Test results for 12,642 residents were reported Saturday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 7.03%. That’s up from
6.45% the previous day. Miami-Dade County: Test results for 23,214 residents
were reported Saturday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 7.17%. That’s up from 6.20% the previous day.
Deaths
The state’s pandemic data report shows a total of 28,683 Floridians have died from COVID-19. In addition, 496 non-residents have died after contracting the virus. Most of the fatalities reported Saturday happened over several weeks but were just confirmed in the past day.
Florida reported 118 additional deaths from COVID Saturday after reporting 183 more on Friday.
Out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Florida ranks No. 25 for deaths per 100K residents and No.
23 for cases per 100K residents, according to the latest data from the health department and the COVID Tracking Project.
Hospitalizations
As of Saturday, there were
4,681 people hospitalized in Florida with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
In South Florida, Broward County reported 584, Palm Beach County had
326 and Miami-Dade had
740. Hospitalizations hit a peak in late July of about
9,500 patients statewide, then dipped as low as 2,011 on Oct. 19. The numbers steadily increased throughout November and December.
Events and activities this year have been reduced to adhere to COVID-19 protocols. Following is a list of what’s planned, in-person and virtual, for the third anniversary honoring the
17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting. Also listed are continuing support activities for the survivors and those affected by the tragedy.
Moment of Silence at
10:17 a.m. Feb. 14. City of Fort Lauderdale to honor MSD victims. Memorial ceremony begins at 10 a.m. through 10:42 a.m. Esplanade Park, 400 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale. Community is invited to share messages of love, unity, and hope on a memorial wall and release feelings of pain and loss by placing personal letters into a fire pit. Those unable to attend may email messages for the fire pit to MSDStrongFTL@ fortlauderdale.gov. Social distancing and facial coverings required.
Spreading the Love,
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 14. The
Wellness Center will offer a safe space with a full day of programming. Activities include meditation, rock painting, snacks, art therapy, music therapy, bracelet making and a drum circle, among others. Eagles’ Haven,
5655 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs. 954-618-0350. See eagleshaven.org. Free wellness support groups available with reservation at
754-321-1590.
Virtual event: Run 4 Beigel, 5k Run/Walk, through Feb. 14. See runsignup.com/Race/FL/Parkland/Run4Beigel Community Commemoration, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14. Commemoration will be conducted by spiritual leaders, followed by a short video and candle lighting. Physical distancing and face masks required. Attend in-person at Pine Trails Park, 10559 Trails Ends, Parkland. Virtual attendees are invited to visit the city’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube live feeds. Also see cityofparkland.org.
City of Margate MSD Vigil, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14. To honor the 17 lives lost, 17 lanterns will be released at
6:17 p.m., following a short speech and song. Candles will be given out to attendees. Margate Sports Complex,
1695 Banks Road, Margate, Field #1. Free parking at the Sports Complex. Visit the Facebook event page at bit.
ly/3roBfP7.
City of Pembroke Pines Prayer Vigil, 6 p.m. Feb. 14. The community is invited to join the city in honoring the lives of the students and staff who lost their lives, and acknowledge the recovery and strength of the students, staff and families who survived. CDC pandemic guidelines will be followed. Charles F. Dodge City Center Plaza, 601 City Center Way, Pembroke Pines. 954-3922116. See ppines.com. Virtual: Chris Hixon Memorial 5K Run/Walk, Feb. 20. Chris was an athletic director, coach, and campus monitor who was gunned down while running towards the shooter to try to stop him. Proceeds support the Chris Hixon Athletic Scholarship foundation. Register at bit.
ly/2YVoNKn.
Virtual Fundraiser: This is a community service project by the City of Parkland that has partnered with the Coconut Creek-based nonprofit Food For The Poor. This year, due to COVID-19, residents are asked to honor the 17 lives lost by donating online to this effort to change lives for the better. See bit.
ly/2YHOT3p or visit foodforthepoor.org/msdcommunity.