Virus fatalities surging
Florida reports nearly 200 more COVID-19 deaths, a record for state during pandemic
People leave a COVID-19 testing
Florida’s COVID-19 fatalities continue to surge, as officials said another 191 people died in the state from disease complications.
That’s the most reported on any day so far in the coronavirus pandemic, topping the 173 deaths reported Thursday. The state has reported 921 deaths over the last seven days, or an average of almost 132 deaths per day.
But the deaths reported Tuesday happened over a number of weeks, rather than over the past 24 hours. Two of the new fatalities reported for Miami-Dade County were cases initially counted in April and May, records show.
While the additional deaths push the state’s death toll to 6,240, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the outlook is improving. He pointed to better treatments for people hospitalized for COVID-19, and a recent trend of fewer people going to emergency rooms with coughs and other symptoms.
“Those are tough things to see when you see fatalities come in,” he said during a news conference at an Orlando hospital. “If someone is admitted to the hospital today, there’s going to be a certain amount of treatment … usually it results in discharges … but not every time.
“And so I think when you see those reports, those are probably reflective of infections and hospitalizations that have happened in the past.”
Florida’s death rate is near the middle compared with other states. Florida’s death rate per 100,000 people was 28 as of Tuesday,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s COVID Data Tracker.
The death rate is significantly higher in New York City with 280 deaths per 100,000. California has reported 21 deaths per 100,000, and Texas has had 20 deaths per 100,000. California and Texas are the most populous states, followed by Florida and New York.
The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday also had some more troubling news: 9,230 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19.
That ends two days of declines, including Monday’s count of 8,892 that was the lowest in nearly three weeks. The test results reported on a single day typically reflect tests taken over several days; the early part of the week typically has lower infection totals.
The state’s total of known cases now stands at 441,977, which ranks it behind only California’s 460,000-plus cases. Florida surpassed New York State, the original coronavirus epicenter, on Saturday.
New York, California and five other states have had more pandemic deaths than Florida, the CDC says.
South Florida
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 4,550 new cases in the past day, or 49.3% of the daily total for the state, according to the state Department of Health.
Broward County: 873 new coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the total to 51,657. A total of 632 people have died, which is unchanged since Monday.
Palm Beach County: 640 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 31,598. A total of 794 people have died, 21 more than reported Monday.
Miami-Dade County: 3,037 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 110,352.