Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Infections still trend downward in Florida
Florida on Tuesday linked another 219 deaths to COVID-19, bringing the state’s pandemic toll to nearly 9,900 fatalities.
The state has reported a daily average of 172 deaths from the disease over the past week, one of the worst periods so far, according to the latest data.
But there were two positive signs in the Department of Health’s new summary: The testing positivity rate remained under 10%, and the number of new infections was under 4,000. This continued a downward trend since last month.
The state posted 3,838 new confirmed cases, up from Monday’s 2,678 new cases. That was the lowest number since June 17, according to the official statistics. For most of July, Florida posted over 10,000 cases per day. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday highlighted a report in TheHill.com that framed the recent numbers as “a welcome reprieve from the devastating rates of coronavirus infections the Sunshine State has recorded over the summer.”
The daily totals for new cases and deaths reflect results of testing and death reports compiled over days and weeks.
Officials reported a drop-off in the number of COVID-19 test results in recent days — this has contributed to the decline in new infections. From Wednesday to Friday, there was an average of 87,735 results per day, and from Saturday to Monday, there was an average of 51,420 results.
The daily positivity rate of 7.9%, reported Tuesday, was a continuation of the lower numbers seen in the past few weeks.
Positivity — the percentage of people testing positive for the first time out of those tested — is a figure that health experts say shows the prevalence of the disease in the population.
Other encouraging trends are a decline in the number of people hospitalized and seeking care in emergency rooms for COVID-like symptoms.
For the week of July 5, there were 16,036 visits to hospital ERs for COVIDlike illness. That dropped to 4,835 visits for the week of Aug. 9.
South Florida
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 1,517 new cases in the past day, or 39.5% of the daily total for the state.
Broward County: 367 new coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the total to 67,193. The median age of Florida residents infected in the county is 39. A total of 1,051 people in Broward have died from the virus, 12 more than reported Monday.
Palm Beach County: 186 new cases, bringing the total to 39,460. The median age of those infected in the county is 41. A total of 1,022 people have died, 14 more than reported the previous day.
Miami-Dade County: 964 new cases, bringing the total to 146,990. The median age of those infected in the county is 43. A total of 2,142 people have died. That’s 45 more than reported Monday.
Testing and positivity rate
A total of almost 4.3 million people have been swabbed in Florida since the pandemic began, producing a positivity rate of 13.53%. The state reports that 579,932 people have tested positive, and 3.7 million people have tested negative. At the end of May, Florida’s overall positivity rate was about 5.6%.
In South Florida, the daily positivity rates on Tuesday were 7.6% for Broward, a drop from Monday’s 9%; 10.5% for Miami-Dade, down from 12.3%; and 5.7% for Palm Beach County, down from 7.2% the prior day.
That’s the lowest rate for Palm Beach County since it was 5% on June 6. All three counties have experienced declines in positivity over the past month; Miami-Dade was at 20% on July 15.
“We have trends in Florida that have been trending in the right direction for many weeks now,” DeSantis said at a news conference Monday. “Last week we had the lowest percentage of tests that tested positive since the week of June 7. It was also the sixth straight week where we had a decline in the positivity rate.”
Hospitalizations
Across the state, 5,484 people were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The state’s online report updates several times throughout the day.
The number of people in hospitals for COVID-19 has been declining this month as has the number of people in intensive care units. The total hospitalized for the disease two weeks ago was about 7,830; and four weeks ago, it was about 9,400.
In South Florida, 2,145 people were hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon. Broward County reported 695, Palm Beach County had 360, and Miami-Dade had 1,090, the most in the state.
Deaths
Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 9,893 on Tuesday. That figure includes 135 people who were not state residents. The daily deaths reported often lag the actual date of death by several weeks.
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 4,118 deaths have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and longterm care facilities, a figure that represents 42.2% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents.
Miami-Dade County has the highest number of longterm care facility deaths, with 663, or 16.1% of the total. Palm Beach County has had 412 deaths, or 10%, and Broward accounted for 307 deaths, or 7.5%.
Nationwide: Florida’s death rate ranks 16th in the United States when compared with other states and the District of Columbia, with 45 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s COVID Data Tracker.