Cases fail to relent: 9,344 more reported Sunday
Drivers wait in line for COVID-19 testing Tuesday at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. Over the past seven days, the state has reported an average of 126 deaths per day.
Florida’s coronavirus cases are still on the upswing, with the state reporting another 9,344 cases Sunday.
That brings the Sunshine State’s total number of cases to 423,855 since the pandemic began, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The state reported deaths Sunday morning.
At least 5,972 people have died from the virus in Florida, reports show. That figure includes 118 people 78 new from outside the state.
Over the past seven days, the state has reported an average of 126 deaths per day. That’s down slightly from an average of 127.5 deaths reported over the previous seven-day period Saturday.
Florida surpassed New York in confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Florida reported another 12,199 infections Saturday, bringing the total to 414,511. That made Florida second in the nation for coronavirus cases, ahead of New York State and its 406,506 cases.
California has the most cases, with 425,616, based on the COVID Data Tracker from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Florida set another grim record when it reported 173 deaths Thursday. Many of those deaths occurred weeks ago, but showed up in Thursday’s daily data record due to a reporting lag.
Florida also set another bleak record on July 12 when it reported
15,300 new coronavirus cases.
South Florida
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 4,682 new cases in the past day, or 50% of the daily total for the state, according to the state Department of Health.
Broward County: 1,163 new coronavirus cases were reported Sunday, bringing the total to 49,350. A total of 630 people have died, 25 more since Saturday’s report.
Palm Beach County: 618 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 30,325. A total of 770 people have died, three more since Saturday.
Miami-Dade County: 2,901 new cases Sunday, bringing the total to 104,755. A total of 1,404 people have died. That’s nine more than Saturday.
Testing and the positivity rate
Florida says it has tested 3.39 million people since the pandemic began, and 12.5% have been positive. That’s the third-highest number of COVID-19 tests in the country, behind California (7 million) and New York (5.5 million).
More than 50.6 million people have been tested for the coronavirus nationwide.
Florida on Sunday reported an 11.06% positivity rate for tests statewide in the previous 24-hour period. The rate was 18% for Miami-Dade, 12.3% for Broward and 9.9% for Palm Beach County. Those figures dropped slightly since Saturday’s report for the state, Dade and Broward but increased slightly for Palm Beach County.
The daily positivity rate is a key figure, since it’s one of the numbers that indicates the prevalence of the disease in the population. In May, Florida’s positivity rate was about 5%.
Hospitalizations
The number of people being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals on Sunday decreased in South Florida and also dropped statewide.
The total stood at 8,961 as of 12:01 p.m., according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. About 24 hours earlier, the same report listed 9,048 patients.
Miami-Dade County has the most people hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of the new coronavirus: 1,917 patients, a decrease of 37 since Saturday. Next is Broward with 1,260, down by 35 since Saturday. Palm Beach County has 606 patients, an increase of 11.
A different report, from the state health department, shows 24,064 Florida residents have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. That’s an increase of 9,239 patients since July 1, when the total was 14,825 hospitalizations.
Deaths
Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 5,972 on Sunday. That figure includes 118 people who were not residents. The three South Florida counties account for 2,804 deaths, which is 46.95% of the state total.
Nationwide: Florida’s death rate is in the middle compared with other states. Florida’s death rate per 100,000 people was 27.1 as of Sunday, CDC data show. The death rate is much higher in New York City with 279.6 deaths per 100,000. California has reported 21.1 deaths per 100,000, and Texas has had 17 deaths per 100,000.
Senior care: At least 2,667 deaths have occurred in nursing homes and longterm care facilities, a figure that represents 44.65% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents. Miami-Dade County has the highest number of long-term care facility deaths, with 592, or 22% of the total. Palm Beach County had 309 deaths, or 12%, and Broward accounted for 198 deaths, or 7%. COVID-19 is the state’s deadliest infectious disease, killing three times more Floridians a day than flu/ pneumonia, AIDS and viral hepatitis combined, records show. The most vulnerable to death and hospitalization are people older than 65 or those who have underlying health concerns, including diabetes, weakened immune systems or obesity.
Global view
U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 146,722 as of 1:35 p.m. Sunday, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has reported more than 4.2 million cases, the highest total in the world.
Worldwide: The global total reached 16.12 million cases Sunday, with at least 645,699 deaths, Johns Hopkins reported.
The U.S. has 4.3% of the world’s population and 26.1% of the world’s cases.