State’s COVID-19 cases top 600,000
Florida’s coronavirus cases continued on the downswing Sunday, with the state reporting 2,974 new cases and another 51 deaths.
State officials have tallied 600,571 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, according to reports from the Florida Department of Health. As of Sunday, 10,462 people have died from the disease, including 137 people who live elsewhere but died in Florida.
The daily total does not reflect deaths that occurred in the past 24 hours, but over recent weeks.
The deaths reported Sunday represent a sharp decline from the record 277 coronavirus deaths reported on Aug. 11. The one-day peak for new cases was July 12, with 15,300 infections.
Sunday’s tally of new cases shows a downward trend that offers a glimmer of hope in the state’s ongoing battle against the potentially fatal disease.
Florida reported 2,678 cases on Aug. 17 — the lowest number of newly confirmed cases in two months. The state reported 2,610 new cases on June 17.
On Sunday, the state reported a 5.52% positivity rate for results processed in a 24-hour period. The number counts new infections only and doesn’t include people who previously tested positive.
Saturday’s rate was lower, at 4.89%. That’s another good sign pointing to the reduced spread of the coronavirus.
The positivity rate is considered a key way of gauging the prevalence of the disease. Health
experts say the virus is under control when the rate reaches 5% or below.
Encouraged by the downward trend, local government officials are leaning toward leaving South Florida’s beaches open for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
That was not the case for the Fourth of July weekend, when Broward, MiamiDade and Palm Beach counties closed beaches to help prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus.
All three counties have been taking a unified approach when it comes to beach closures during the pandemic.
When Miami-Dade closed its beaches, Broward and Palm Beach counties followed suit to keep people from traveling from county to county go to open beaches.
South Florida
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 1,200 new cases in the past day, or 40.3% of the daily total for the state.
Broward County: 245 new coronavirus cases were reported Sunday, bringing the total to 69,136. The median age of Florida residents infected in the county is 39. A total of 1,139 people in Broward have died from the virus, 25 more than reported Saturday.
Miami-Dade County: 772 new cases were reported on Sunday, bringing the total to 151,986. The median age of those infected in the county is 43. A total of 2,259 people have died. That’s five more than reported Saturday.
Palm Beach County: 183 new cases were reported Sunday, bringing the total to 40,570. The median age of those infected in the county is 41. A total of 1,075 people have died. No new deaths were reported on Sunday.
Testing and positivity rate
More than 4.4 million people have been swabbed in Florida since the pandemic began, producing an overall positivity rate of 13.54%.
The state reports that 600,571 people have tested positive, and more than 3.8 million people have tested negative. At the end of July, Florida’s overall positivity rate was about 12.9%.
In South Florida, the overall positivity rates are 19.48% for Miami-Dade County, 14.3% for Broward, and 13.15% for Palm Beach County.
The daily positivity rates are much lower: 8.55% for Miami-Dade County, 4.38% for Broward, and 3.54% for Palm Beach County.
Hospitalizations
Across the state, 4,579 people were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 as of 1 p.m. Sunday. The state’s online report updates several times throughout the day.
The number of people in hospitals for COVID-19 has been declining all month as has the number of people in intensive care units. The total number of people hospitalized for the disease two weeks ago was about 6,900. Four weeks ago, it was about 9,000.
South Florida: 1,734 people were hospitalized as of Sunday afternoon. Broward County reported 600, Palm Beach County had 251, and Miami-Dade had 883, the most in the state.
These figures also represent declines. One week ago, Broward County hospitals had 742 patients with the virus, Palm Beach County had 360 and MiamiDade had 1,139, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
A different report, from the state health department, shows 36,468 Florida residents have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. That’s an increase of 9,496 patients since Aug. 1, when 26,972 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized.
Deaths
Statewide: The official COVID-19 report, updated Sunday, shows 10,325 Florida resident deaths. Another 137 non-residents also died in Florida.
COVID-19 is the state’s deadliest infectious disease. Throughout 2019, there were 2,703 deaths attributed to the flu and pneumonia in Florida, records show.
Seniors: At least 4,348 deaths have occurred among residents and staff at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a figure that represents 41.55% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents.
Miami-Dade County has the highest number of deaths at the facilities, with 673, or 15% of the total. Palm Beach County has had 447 deaths, or 10%, and Broward accounted for 334 deaths, or 8%.
Nationwide: Florida’s death rate ranks 16th in the United States when compared with other states and the District of Columbia, with 48 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.
The CDC lists the death rate for New York State and New York City separately. The data for New York City, the nation’s original coronavirus hot spot, shows 281 deaths per 100,000 people. For New York State, the number drops to 80 deaths per 100,000.
New Jersey has 178 deaths per 100,000. Massachusetts has 129 deaths per 100,000 and Connecticut is close behind with 124.
Texas has 39 deaths per 100,000. California has 30. California and Texas are the most populous states, followed by Florida and New York.
The District of Columbia has 85 deaths per 100,000 people.
The Data Tracker does not show death rates for Florida cities.
Global view
Worldwide: The novel coronavirus has infected more than 23 million people and killed at least 805,422 worldwide as of 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
U.S.: The United States has 5.6 million cases, the highest total in the world, with at least 176,464 deaths, the most fatalities of any country. The U.S. has 4.3% of the world’s population, but 24.4% of the world’s cases and 21.9% of the world’s deaths.
Other countries with high COVID-19 deaths are Brazil with 114,250, Mexico with 60,254, India with 56,706, and the United Kingdom with 41,515.