Florida’s COVID-19 cases grow

But positivity rate for tests remains steady at about 7%

Another 119 Floridians have died from COVID-19 as the state saw 4,684 new cases of people infected with the coronavirus, the state reported Friday.

It’s the fourth consecutive day that the number of new infections has increased, according to the state Department of Health’s updated coronavirus pandemic tally.

But the all-important testing positivity rate, which offers some clues about the prevalence of the disease, has now been at about 7% for three days in a row.

This is the percentage of people who test positive out of the total number of tests on one day of results. The state’s figure is for new cases only and doesn’t count people who previously tested positive.

Public health experts say the virus is under control when the rate is 5% or below. The state says its “target range” is below 10%. From June 15 through the end of July, Florida regularly had positivity rates above 10%, and even hit 15% or higher on several days.

Positivity is also looking better in South Florida, which has had the state’s biggest coronavirus outbreak.

The daily positivity rates on Friday were 6.75% for Broward, a decrease from the previous day’s 7.12%; 9.53% for Miami-Dade, down from 9.62%; and 5.18% for Palm Beach County, up just slightly from 5.12% the prior day.

Also in Friday’s report, the state indicated that it processed 79,260 COVID-19 test results over the previous day. That’s up slightly from 77,175 results posted Thursday.

Yet another calculation, which includes retests of people who were previously diagnosed, shows a statewide positivity rate of

9.77% based on the latest results. That’s the lowest it has been since it was 9.75% on June 15, records show.

The new cases posted Friday continue a streak during which the state has not had 10,000 or more cases per day for nearly four weeks. Still, the numbers have ticked up from 2,678 new cases on Monday, 3,838 cases Tuesday, 4,115 cases Wednesday, and 4,555 cases Thursday.

The cases reported on a single day follow a lag between the collection of swabs over several days and the confirmation of positive results.

With the most recent reported deaths on Friday, the state has now confirmed a total of at least 10,304 people have died from COVID-19 complications. These are people who died in recent weeks but whose deaths were recently added to the state figures.

Health officials reported the death of a 6-year-old girl from Hillsborough County — the youngest known victim of the disease in the state. It’s unclear if she had traveled or had underlying health conditions.

The girl is the eighth person younger than 18 to die from COVID-19, records show. Previously, Florida’s youngest victim had been a 9-year-old Putnam County girl, who died last month.

South Florida

South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 1,888 new cases in the past day, or 40.3% of the daily total for the state.

Broward County: 474 new coronavirus cases were reported Friday, bringing the total to 68,542. The median age of Florida residents infected in the county is 39. A total of 1,094 people in Broward have died from the virus, 17 more than reported Thursday.

Palm Beach County: 271 new cases, bringing the total to 40,157. The median age of those infected in the county is 41. A total of 1,064 people have died, nine more than reported the previous day.

Miami-Dade County: 1,143 new cases on Friday, bringing the total to 150,305. The median age of those infected in the county is 43. A total of 2,235 people have died. That’s 34 more than reported Thursday.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said the recent data trends are “very encouraging,” considering that last month the county’s positivity rate was around 20% and there were several days with more than 3,000 new cases.

“It’s a great sign,” he said during a news conference Friday. “It’s thanks to all the residents who have been following the new normal.”

Gimenez said people can’t afford to let down their guard any time soon or the spread of the virus will get worse again.

“It’s our responsibility,” he said. “We have to keep wearing our masks, social distancing, wash our hands and then in the home, in multigenerational homes, hey if you’re venturing outside you may have caught the virus, you may want to stay away as much as possible from those that are high risk.”

Testing and positivity rate

A total of 4.37 million people have been swabbed in Florida since the pandemic began, producing a positivity rate of 13.56%.

The state reports that 593,286 people have tested positive, and 3.77 million people have tested negative. At the end of May, Florida’s overall positivity rate was about 5.6%.

In South Florida, the overall positivity rates based on testing to date are 19.5% for Miami-Dade County, 14.3% for Broward, and 13.2% for Palm Beach County.

Hospitalizations

Across the state, 4,903 people were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 as of noon Friday. 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 7,170; and four weeks ago, it was about 9,200.

South Florida: 1,889 people were hospitalized as of Friday afternoon. Broward County reported 664, Palm Beach County had 288, and Miami-Dade had 937, the most in the state.

These figures also represent declines. One week ago, Broward County hospitals had 769 patients with the virus, Palm Beach County had 363 and Miami-Dade had 1,206, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration. A different report, from the state health department, shows 35,997 Florida residents have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. That’s an increase of 9,025 patients since Aug. 1, when the total was 26,972 hospitalizations.

Deaths

Statewide: The official COVID-19 report, updated Friday, shows 10,168 Florida resident deaths plus 136 nonresidents who died in the state. On Thursday the state listed 137 nonresident deaths; occasionally the daily reports are updated and corrected.

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 4,274 deaths have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a figure that represents 42% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents.

Miami-Dade County has the highest number of long-term care facility deaths, with 670, or 15.7% of the total. Palm Beach County has had 439 deaths, or 10.3%, and Broward accounted for 316 deaths, or 7.4%.

Nationwide: Florida’s death rate ranks 15th in the United States when compared with other states and the District of Columbia, with 47 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.

The CDC does not list a death rate for New York State that includes New York City. The data for just New York City, the nation’s original coronavirus epicenter, shows 281 deaths per 100,000 people. For New York State, excluding the city, it’s 80 deaths per 100,000.

Texas has 37 deaths per 100,000, and California has 29. California and Texas are the most populous states, followed by Florida and New York. The Data Tracker does not show death rates for Florida cities.

Global view

Worldwide: The novel coronavirus has infected 22.7 million people and has killed at least 794,814 worldwide as of about 12:30 p.m. Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.

U.S.: The United States has almost 5.6 million cases, the highest total in the world, with at least 174,504 deaths, the most fatalities of any country. The U.S. has 4.3% of the world’s population, but 24.6 of the world’s cases and 22% of the world’s deaths.

Other countries with high COVID-19 death tolls are Brazil with 112,304, Mexico with 59,106, India with 54,849, and the United Kingdom with 41,491.