State passes 5 million cases; 2 weeks ago, it was 4 million

Florida now has more than five million COVID-19 cases as the state reported 49,339 cases and six new deaths Friday, according to Saturday’s report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on Miami Herald calculations of

CDC data.

In the past seven days, the state has added 66 deaths and 58,406 cases per day on average, according to Herald calculations of CDC data.

It took a little over two weeks for Florida to go from a case toll of four million to more than five million. The state had surpassed four million cases on Dec. 29. This is the quickest the state has seen an increase this large. It took about four months for Florida to go from three million cases, in mid-August, to four million, and about five months to go from two million cases, in March, to three million.

New cases have been on a downward trend since the state reported 77,156 on January 8, Florida’s single-day increase record.

In all, Florida has recorded at least 5,041,918 confirmed COVID cases and 62,819 deaths.

COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS IN FLORIDA

There are 11,568 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Saturday report. This data is reported from 260 Florida hospitals. The number of people hospitalized across the state is 16 more than the day prior, when 259 hospitals reported.

COVID-19 patients take up 19.84% of all inpatient beds in the latest report, compared to 19.81% among Friday’s reporting hospitals.

Omicron, so far, is not as deadly as delta’s surge last summer. Hospitalizations are approaching records set during delta’s wave from July through September.

At delta’s August peak, more than 15,000 patients were hospitalized in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Of the people hospitalized in Florida, 1,443 were in intensive-care units, an increase of 48 from Friday. That represents about 23.48% of the state’s ICU beds, compared to 22.55% the previous day.

Devoun Cetoute: 305-376-2026, @devoun_cetoute

CARL JUSTE cjuste@miamiherald.com Motorists navigate around the orange cones as long lines form at Tropical Park, a vaccination and testing site, on Jan. 2.