Florida reaches 13,100 deaths from COVID-19

Every 10 days in Florida, another 1,000 people are reported dead from the new coronavirus.

The state topped 10,000 COVID-19 victims on Aug. 19; 11,000 on Aug. 27; 12,000 on Sept. 6; and now 13,000 with the pandemic data released Wednesday.

These sobering numbers come at a time when Florida is trying to rebound following April shutdowns that crippled the economy while temporarily slowing the spread of the virus before a summer surge.

Recent infection and hospitalization trends are encouraging a wave of reopenings, including plans to resume in-person classes in South Florida public schools. Testing positivity rates are now below the optimal 5% level, there are fewer new cases, and plenty of hospital beds available.

But people are continuing to die, most of them elderly, records show. At least 82% of the fatalities are among seniors, though there are rare deaths among children and young people. The state has confirmed 35 deaths among those 24 and younger.

The Florida Department of Health, which releases daily tallies, said Wednesday that another 154 people have died from COVID-19 illness.

These are people who died weeks ago, but the confirmations were just received by state officials. Officials don’t disclose whether these people had underlying health conditions.

Overall, the official casualty count now stands at 12,939 Floridians and 161 nonresidents who have died in the state. There have been more than 5,500 deaths from COVID-19 in South Florida, the most hard-hit area in the state.

New cases across Florida are down, with 2,355 infections reported Wednesday. That’s a decrease from 3,116 cases reported Tuesday, but higher than the 1,736 cases listed Monday, which was the lowest number in over three months.

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

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Tuesday that Americans must protect themselves. He continues to tout the need for people to wear masks, avoid crowds, practice social distancing and good hygiene.

Commending the state of Vermont for having the lowest COVID-19 testing positivity in the country, he called the virus a “formidable foe.”

“Please, you’ve done so well, don’t let your guard down, because if we do we are going to see surges that are going to put us back to where we were months ago,” he said, according to a report by The Associated Press.

South Florida

Broward County: 143 new coronavirus cases were reported Wednesday, bringing the total to 74,832. At least 1,323 people in Broward were reported to have died, nine more than Tuesday’s total.

Palm Beach County: 154 new cases were reported Wednesday, bringing the total to 44,459. A total of 1,253 deaths were reported, 18 more than Tuesday.

Miami-Dade County:

459 new cases were reported Wednesday, bringing the total to 165,147. A total of 2,975 people in Miami-Dade were reported to have died from COVID-19. That’s 32 more than Tuesday’s total.

Testing

More than 4.99 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida since the pandemic began, producing an overall positivity rate of 13.45%, state data show. At least 671,201 people have tested positive and 4.31 million people have tested negative.

The latest state report shows the daily positivity rate at 4.47%, up from 4.2% the previous day. This figure reflects only new infections based on COVID-19 testing for the day; it does not count people who previously tested positive for the disease.

Statewide positivity has been less than 5% for eight out of the last 11 days. Public health experts say the virus is under control in this range.

In South Florida, the cumulative positivity rates are 18.98% for Miami-Dade County, 13.86% for Broward County and 12.77% for Palm Beach County. But the daily rates have declined for several weeks.

The daily positivity rates reported Wednesday were 2.97% for Broward County, down from 3.95% the previous day; 4.04% for Palm Beach County, down from 4.12%; and 4.52% for Miami-Dade County, down from 4.91%.

Wednesday’s data report shows test results for 57,161 Florida residents, down from 68,960 results reported the previous day, but up from 50,966 results two days ago. These results include retests of people who were previously diagnosed.

Hospitalizations

Since the pandemic began, a total of 41,851 residents have been hospitalized for the disease in Florida, according to the Department of Health.

As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, 2,464 people were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 across the state.

Broward County reported 251 patients; Palm Beach County had 163; and Miami-Dade had the most in the state with 382.

The online report from the state Agency for Health Care Administration updates several times throughout the day. Hospitalizations have been declining since hitting a peak in late July.

Deaths

Statewide: The official COVID-19 report, updated Wednesday, shows 12,939 Florida resident deaths. In addition, 161 nonresident deaths have been attributed to the virus in the state.

Long-term care facilities: At least 5,320 deaths have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted-living centers throughout the state, 54 more than reported Tuesday.

Miami-Dade County reported the highest number of deaths at these facilities, with 765; Palm Beach County reported 532, and Broward 381.

Global view

World: The novel coronavirus has infected 29.6 million people and killed at least 936,377 worldwide as of about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.

U.S.: The United States has 6.6 million cases, the highest total in the world, with at least 196,147 deaths, the most of any country. The U.S. has 22.3% of the world’s cases.