Infection rate at highest level in 2 weeks

Health officials on Tuesday reported the COVID-19 testing positivity rate for Florida exceeded the desired 5% level for the first time since Sept. 10.

It could be just a oneday blip on the radar, or the first indication that the novel coronavirus is spreading more across Florida communities.

The state Department of Health data show that 5.88% of people swabbed tested positive for the first time, in the latest results. The rate was 4.31% on Monday’s report.

The total number of test results was similar for both days at around 44,000. But this figure includes retests of people who were previously diagnosed.

Tuesday’s report stopped a favorable stretch of positivity staying lower than 5% for 10 straight days. The World Health Organization has advised governments that before reopening, the rate should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.

The daily positivity hasn’t been this high since Sept. 8, when it was 5.92%.

The daily positivity for Broward was still low at 3.62%, but it jumped to 6.74% in Palm Beach County, an increase from 3.07% the previous day. Miami-Dade County’s testing positivity stood at 5.56% in the latest results, up from 3.67%.

This rate does not include people who previously tested positive for the disease.

“It’s not time to let our guard down!” Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez wrote on Twitter, after the latest statistics came out. “We cannot afford to go backwards if we don’t wear our masks and keep each other safe.”

All three South Florida counties had the lowest number of test results in at least a week, which may not be enough of a sample size to assess the prevalence of the virus.

On Tuesday, the state health department reported an additional 2,470 people in the state had tested positive for COVID-19. Also, 99 more people were added to a long list of virus-linked fatalities. These figures are within trends for the past four weeks.

Tuesday’s total of new infections was an increase over the 1,685 new cases the day before. The state experienced its highest number of new daily cases in July, with disease-related deaths reaching their highest daily counts in August.

The latest cases bring the total to 687,909 in Florida since the pandemic began, according to the official tally. The total death count, which includes both Florida residents and nonresidents who died in the state, reached 13,579.

South Florida

Broward County: 143 additional confirmed coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday. The county has tallied 75,944 cases and 1,354 deaths, six more than Monday’s total.

Palm Beach County: 177 additional cases of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday. The county has had 45,602 confirmed cases and 1,307 deaths linked to the disease, nine more than Monday.

Miami-Dade County: 362 additional cases were reported Tuesday. The county has had a total of 167,515 cases and 3,106 deaths, 30 more than Monday’s report.

Testing

More than 5.1 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida since the pandemic began, producing an overall positivity rate of 13.38%, state data show. At least 687,909 people have tested positive and 4.44 million people have tested negative.

In South Florida, the cumulative positivity rates are 18.75% for Miami-Dade County, 13.71% for Broward County and 12.73% for Palm Beach County. As of Tuesday, 893,373 people have been swabbed in Miami-Dade, 553,963 people have been tested in Broward, and 358,110 people got COVID-19 tests in Palm Beach County.

Hospitalizations

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, 2,319 people across the state were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19. The number is up 52 from Monday.

Broward County reported 242 patients currently hospitalized; Palm Beach County had 149; and Miami-Dade had the most in the state with 315.

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

Since the pandemic began, a total of 42,771 state residents have been hospitalized for the disease in Florida, according to the Department of Health.

Deaths

Statewide: The official COVID-19 report, updated Tuesday, shows 13,416 Florida resident deaths. In addition, 163 nonresident deaths have been attributed to the virus in the state.

Long-term care facilities: At least 5,503 deaths have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted-living centers throughout the state, 44 more than reported Monday.

Miami-Dade County reported the highest number of deaths at these facilities, with 778; Palm Beach County reported 558, and Broward 390.