6,563 new infections for state

COVID-19 also linked to 46 more Fla. deaths

The latest batch of coronavirus test results released Wednesday confirmed that Florida is still in the thick of fast-spreading infections.

For the past week, it’s been a story of record-high cases, government-imposed shutdowns, and urgent pleas for people to wear facial coverings. Florida’s emergency management director on Tuesday tweeted one word 40 times in all-capital letters: “MASKS.”

The reason is clear: Health officials report the state logged 6,563 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, which is a bigger figure than each of the past two days.

It’s not an all-time record for Florida, but it’s close enough. Throughout the pandemic there have been only three other days with as many more people testing positive, all in the past week. The record is 9,585 cases on Saturday, followed by 8,942 on Friday, and 8,530 on Sunday.

The Department of Health also reported 46 additional deaths linked to COVID-19, for a new total of 3,650 fatalities.

The record-high daily case totals forced state and local officials to stop bars from serving alcohol, beef up enforcement of business capacity rules, and close beaches over the upcoming holiday weekend.

“For the Fourth of July, I’m more concerned about, you know, people crowding into the A/C and having private parties and things like that where you are real close,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference Wednesday in Daytona Beach. “The virus likes that kind of an environment better.”

South Florida

Over the past 24 hours, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties counted 1,969 new cases, or 30% of the

Florida State Department of Economic Opportunity

Florida Critical Facility Hardening Program

Broward County Housing Finance and Community Redevelopment Division (HFCRD) is extending the Public Notice/Public Meeting comment period on the above referenced intent, published on June 13, 2020 in the Sun Sentinel, and on the HFCRD website at https://www.broward.org/ Housing/Pages/Default.aspx. The County is extending the comment period an additional 7 days to July 9, 2020, to provide a total of a 21-day public notice and comment period. Citizens are encouraged to submit comments during this time, ending Thursday July 9, 2020. Please provide comments to Christine Barzey, Housing Finance and Community Redevelopment Division (HFCRD) at cbarzey@broward.org - (954) 357-4900, or via mail to address: 110 NE 3rd Street, #300, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.

A second virtual public meeting will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. to allow for comments from the public. Please visit HFCRD website at https://www.broward. org/Housing/Pages/Default.aspx for information to attend the virtual public meeting. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Florida Statutes Section 286.26, persons with disabilities needing special accommodation to participate in this hearing should contact the above phone number at least 48 hours prior to the hearing. Translation and/or interpretation services available upon request. If you have Limited English Proficiency (LEP), please notify the HFCRD.

Servicios de traduccion pueden ser disponibles bajo peticion.

Para obtener información adicional, visite el sitio web de HFCRD mencionado anteriormente. statewide total for the day. The three big South Florida counties hold 29% of Florida’s population.

Breaking the numbers down further:

Broward County: 531 new cases were reported Wednesday, bringing the total to 16,155 to date. A total of 407 people have died, two more since Tuesday’s report.

Palm Beach County: 297 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 14,447. A total of 525 people have died, two more since Tuesday.

Miami-Dade County: 1,141 new cases, bringing the total to 37,961. A total of 1,015 people have died, which is nine more than Tuesday. Miami-Dade has 13% of the state’s population but 23.9% of the coronavirus cases and 27.8% of the deaths.

Beginning Thursday, all Miami-Dade restaurants with more than eight seats must close their on-site dining areas from 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. daily until further notice.

“Too many people were crowding into restaurants late at night, turning these establishments into breeding grounds for this deadly virus,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

A new forecast model by the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which studies COVID-19 cases across the United States, predicts that by July 22, there will be more than 1,000 cases a day in Palm Beach County and more than 2,500 cases a day in Broward.

Testing trends

Florida officials reported a total of almost 1.99 million people have been tested for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. About 8% of the tests have been positive, so at least 158,997 people have been diagnosed with the disease.

The rate is higher in South Florida, where about 10% of people tested have been diagnosed with the disease in MiamiDade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to the data. The region accounts for 43.1% of all cases in the state, with a total of 68,563 so far.

Public health experts say the surge of new cases is only partly because the state is testing more people. The percentage of positive tests for each day has been rising in recent weeks, an indication the virus is spreading throughout many communities.

In the latest results, received by the state on Tuesday and reported Wednesday, 18.5% of the 35,405 people swabbed statewide tested positive.

That’s much higher than four weeks ago, when the outbreak began getting worse. On June 3, 4.2% of the 31,154 people tested were positive for infections.

Deaths

Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida on Wednesday includes 3,550 residents and 100 people who are from outside the state.

Senior care: At least 1,867 of the state’s coronavirus-related deaths (51.2%) have occurred in nursing homes and longterm care facilities; that’s an increase of 143 over the past week. And, 13,683 cases have occurred among residents and staff.

Hospitalizations

Statewide: A total of 15,125 people have been treated in Florida hospitals for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 246 people since Tuesday. The number of available hospital beds has been declining in recent weeks, records show.

South Florida: Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties have had 7,966 residents hospitalized, 99 more than 24 hours earlier.

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