Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 673 new cases of COVID-19, pushing the state’s total to 44,811,

Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday confirmed 673 additional cases of COVID-19, pushing the state’s total of confirmed cases to 44,811. There were also 47 new deaths announced, raising the statewide death toll to 1,964.

More than half of the new cases and just under half of the latest deaths were in South Florida:

Miami-Dade County

reported 355 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 11 new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 15,366 with 559 deaths, the highest in the state. The median age of positive cases is 49.

Broward County

reported 68 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six new deaths. The county’s confirmed total is now at 6,201 with 278 deaths. The median age of positive cases is 50.

Palm Beach County

saw 49 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 4,440. The death toll is at 275. The median age of positive cases is 52.

Monroe County

did not report any additional cases or deaths. The Florida Keys have 95 known cases and three deaths. The median age is 53. The Keys is still closed to tourists but has opened some businesses to residents with social distancing rules in place.

CONFIRMED COVID CASES IN FLORIDA

More than half of the state’s known COVID-19 cases are in South Florida’s four counties: MiamiDade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe. These figures on Saturday represent 26,102 known cases out of the state’s 44,811. Miami-Dade continues to lead the state with the most confirmed cases and deaths. It has 15,366 known cases and 559 deaths.

Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and the Florida Keys’ combined death toll of 1,115 accounts for more than half of the state’s 1,964 confirmed deaths. Of the total 44,811 confirmed cases, 1,204 were non-Florida residents, according to Florida’s department of health.

COVID TESTING IN FLORIDA

Testing in Florida has seen a steady growth since the COVID-19 crisis began and had begun to see a steady decline in the percentage of people testing positive.

Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’ progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders and loosen restrictions.

The recommended numbers of daily tests needed varies by experts, but the dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine told the governor Florida needs to test about 33,000 people every day.

On the Saturday report, the daily total of new tests was only up by 900 — from 629,895 tested to 630,795. But this is likely because the wet weather, and the warnings of flash floods related to a disturbance off the Florida Keys’ coast, led officials to close 14 state-run COVID-19 test sites Friday. The sites are expected to reopen Monday as the storm heads into the Atlantic away from Florida’s coastline.

MIAMI-DADE TRANSIT CHANGES

Some emergency cutbacks in Miami-Dade transit services are ending Monday as the county lifts closure orders on most businesses.

Scheduled wait times for Metrorail trains will drop from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, and from 7 minutes to 5 minutes for Metromover trains. Nearly three dozen bus routes also will be restored to the schedules in place before the coroanvirus emergency. The changes go into effect Monday, when Mayor Carlos Gimenez is lifting emergency closure orders on most businesses, including restaurant dining rooms.

Fares remain suspended, reduced hours remain for Metrorail and Metromover, and Miami-Dade won’t end the practice of replacing overnight bus routes with vouchers for Uber and Lyft. Passengers must wear masks while riding transit.

MICCOSUKEE TO OPEN CASINO

Miccosukee Resort & Gaming will be reopening its doors at 9 a.m on Sunday after the temporary closure in late March due to COVID-19. At this time, there have been more stringent safety standards set that all patrons and employees will be required to abide by.

In order to enter the facility patrons must be 21 years of age or over, are required to wear a mask at all times and be subject to a temperature test prior to entry. There will be no smoking permitted inside the facility but there will be specific smoking areas outside. If the temperature test is too high, the patron will not be allowed to enter the facility. There will be one designated entrance and one designated exit to ensure the 25% capacity of the facility. There will be multiple areas of the facility that will reopen but several will remain closed in order to abide by social distancing standards and to avoid social gatherings. The gaming floor will be open to the public with every third machine available for play. The other areas that will remain open are the Empeeke Aya Deli, the cafeteria, the hot dog stand, the service bars and the gift shop.

A spokesman for the Seminole Tribe says they have no plans of reopening their casinos at this time.