Testing and the positivity rate
A total of 1,441 people died. That’s 21 more reported Monday. have than
Florida says it has tested 3.49 million people since the pandemic began, and 12.7% have been positive.
Florida reported an 11.7% positivity rate for tests statewide in the previous 24-hour period, up slightly since Monday.
The rate was 17.5% for Miami-Dade, 10.8% for Broward and 10.9% for Palm Beach County.
Broward’s rate was the lowest since June 27, and Miami-Dade’s rate was the lowest since July 21, but the rate for Palm Beach County increased by two percentage points since Monday.
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 Tuesday decreased slightly statewide, but increased in South Florida.
The total stood at 8,976, as of noon Tuesday, according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. About 24 hours earlier, the same report listed 9,035 patients.
Miami-Dade County has the most people hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of the new coronavirus: 2,016 patients, an increase of 53 since Monday. Next is Broward with 1,285, up by nine since Monday. Palm Beach County has 598 patients, a decrease of 21.
A different report, from the state health department, shows 24,917 Florida residents have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. That’s an increase of 10,092 patients since July 1, when the total was 14,825 hospitalizations.
Deaths
Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 6,240 on Tuesday. That figure includes 123 people who were not residents. The three South Florida counties account for 2,867 deaths, which is 45.9% of the state total.
“Obviously to have families lose somebody is a big deal and every one matters,” DeSantis said. “As you have fewer [emergency room] visits, as you have fewer COVID-positive patients in the hospital … I’m pretty sure … you’ll see mortality decrease … and obviously we want to get there.”
Senior care: At least 2,760 deaths have occurred in nursing homes and longterm care facilities, a figure that represents 45.1% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents. MiamiDade
County has the highest number of long-term care facility deaths, with 596, or 21.6% of the total. Palm Beach County had 315 deaths, or 11.4%, and Broward accounted for 201 deaths, or 7.3%.
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 such as weakened immune systems, diabetes or obesity.
Global view
U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 148,298 as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has reported more than 4.3 million cases, the highest total in the world.
Worldwide: The global total reached 16.5 million cases Tuesday, with at least 655,300 deaths, Johns Hopkins reported.
The U.S. has 4.3% of the world’s population, but 26.1% of the world’s cases and 22.6% of the world’s deaths.
One of the first things David T. Hines bought when he got $4 million in COVID-19 relief loans from the feds for his supposedly ailing South Florida moving business was a superluxury Lamborghini Huracan Evo, authorities say.
Needless to say, the Italian-made sports car — purchased by Hines in May for $318,497 — was not on the list of permissible expenses under a Small Business Administration loan program meant to protect employees and cover other legitimate costs like rent during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hines, who was arrested Friday, also spent thousands of dollars on dating websites, jewelry and clothes, along with stays at high-end hotels.
The SBA’s Payroll Protection Program totaling nearly $650 billion was approved by Congress as part of the CARES Act after the coronavirus struck the nation in March, but Hines’ and other similar fraud cases are starting to pop up in South Florida and other parts of the country. The PPP loans are forgiven by the government if they are properly used.
Federal investigators linked the Lamborghini to Hines, who appeared in Miami federal court on fraud and other charges Monday, after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident on July 11.
Hines, 29, held over the weekend at the Federal Detention Center, was granted a $100,000 bond by Magistrate Judge John O’Sullivan and will be allowed to stay at his mother’s home. His defense attorney, Chad Piotrowski, declined to comment after Monday’s hearing. Hines’ arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.
According to a criminal complaint, Hines’ four South Florida moving businesses applied for seven SBA loans totaling $13.5 million through the Bank of America, saying the money would be spent on at least 70 employees with a monthly payroll of $4 million. The bank approved three of his applications, totaling $3,984,557.
The reality: Hines’ companies, including Unified Relocation Solutions in Miami, showed monthly revenue and expenses averaging about $200,000 — “far less than the millions of dollars in payroll that Hines sought in the PPP applications,” an affidavit says.