3,312 cases, 83 deaths statewide; 861 cases push Miami-Dade’s known total past 420,000
Florida’s Department of Health on Monday announced 3,312 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the lowest reported since Halloween. The state also announced 83 new deaths. Of those who died, 81 were residents.
Monday’s single-day count is the lowest recorded since Oct. 31 when 2,331 cases were added. Mondays usually see fewer cases because the state processes less data during the weekend.
The state has recorded a known total of 1,948,307 coronavirus cases and 32,349 total deaths. Among those who died, 31,764 were residents and 585 were nonresidents.
On Monday, the state reported the results of 69,810 residents tested on Sunday. The state’s percent positivity for firsttime testers increased from 5.83% to 5.95%.
More than 1.9 million Floridians have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, according to Monday’s vaccine report. So far, 12,875 people have received Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine and 1,946,615 have completed the two-dose series of either Pfizer or Moderna.
SOUTH FLORIDA
Miami-Dade County ● reported 861 new cases and two deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 420,340 cases and 5,560 deaths. In Miami-Dade, 206,949 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 213,249 people have either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna. Percent positivity increased from 5.97% to 6.25%.
Broward County added 496 cases and 12 deaths, moving its totals to 200,139 cases and
2,477 deaths. In Broward, 136,125 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 174,679 people have either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of
Pfizer or Moderna. Percent positivity decreased from 6.85% to 6.78%.
Palm Beach County reported 216 new cases and 12 deaths, bringing its cumulative count to 123,520 cases and 2,522 deaths. In Palm Beach County, 109,962 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 193,103 people have either received the singledose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna. Percent positivity increased from 5.50% to 5.85%.
Monroe County added 19 new cases and no new deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are 6,005 cases and 46 deaths. In Monroe, 5,757 people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 7,829 people have either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna. Percent positivity increased from 5.32% to 10.06%.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports the number of patients hospitalized statewide with a “primary diagnosis of COVID.” The data, which is updated at least every hour, does not distinguish between the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital intensive care units and those in acute-care beds, which require less attention from nurses.
Government officials use current hospitalizations to decide the next steps in fighting the pandemic.
As of 3:31 p.m. Monday, the agency said there were 3,332 people hospitalized. Of these, Miami-Dade had 579; Broward, 484; Palm Beach, 252; and Monroe, nine, the agency said.
According to MiamiDade’s New Normal Dashboard, county hospitals have reported 624 COVID-19 patients, up from 617 on Sunday.
There were 60 new patients and 47 were discharged.
State hospitalization data doesn’t always match Miami-Dade’s New Normal Dashboard data for various reasons, including the frequency of daily updates.
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against three Monroe County School District employees sued over a 2018 incident in which Key West police officers tried to handcuff an 8-year-old boy at his elementary school after he was accused of punching a teacher.
But the lawsuit, filed in August 2020 in U.S. District Court in Key West by the boy’s mother, Bianca Digennaro, will continue against three Key West police officers, the Key West Police Department and the city of Key West, one of Digennaro’s attorneys said.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge K. Michael Moore, in a March 2 order granting the school district’s motion to dismiss, said the school employees were acting “within the scope of their discretionary authority.”
Moore also ruled the employees’ actions “did not violate a ‘clearly established’ constitutional right.”
“Effectively, this ruling means that all School Board defendants have been dismissed from the case for now while all city of Key West defendants remain,” said Gaelan Jones, an attorney with Vernis & Bowling of the Florida Keys who represents the school district.
Attorney Devon M. Jacob, who is representing Digennaro with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, said they’re not disappointed with the ruling and that it provides clarity.
“We welcomed the decision,” Jacob said. “Before, we had a situation where the school was pointing at police, police were pointing at the school. Now we just had a court explain who is responsible for what areas. The police can’t say, ‘Hey the school turned him over to us, it’s not our fault.’ ”
The lawsuit is moving forward, Jacob said. He declined to comment on whether the boy was still enrolled in Monroe County schools.
Attorney Michael Burke, who is representing the city and the police officers, didn’t return messages left by phone and email.
The incident happened on Dec. 14, 2018 at Gerald Adams Elementary School on Stock Island. According to the arrest report, teacher Ashley Henriquez, went up to the boy in the school’s cafeteria because he was not sitting properly in his seat. When he wouldn’t listen to her, she went to get him to have him sit with her. That’s when the boy punched her in the chest, Henriquez told police.
Video footage of the incident shows one officer placing the crying boy against a filing cabinet inside the school office, frisking him and then trying to put metal handcuffs on him. But it turned out the handcuffs were too big to fit the child’s wrists.
The boy was booked at a juvenile detention facility in Key West on a felony battery charge.
About nine months after the arrest, the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute the case.
DIgennaro’s lawyers say the boy was having a mental health crisis at the time, and that police and school staff chose to have him arrested. Crump said the boy has several psychiatric conditions, including attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiance disorder and adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotional conduct.
Those sued were police officers Michael Malgrat, Kenneth Waite and Fred Sims, teacher Ashley Henriquez, then-principal Fran Herin and then-assistant principal Kyle Sheer. The lawsuit says the named parties violated the boy’s civil rights by using excessive force, not intervening in his arrest and not considering his disabilities during the incident.
Digennaro said her son has anxiety and depression, for which he takes two types of medications and that school staff knew of his special needs.
Sources close to the investigation have said the boy’s father, who is not married to Digennaro, went to the school that day and asked the officers to scare his son as a way to improve his behavior. Asked about that in August, Crump said he did not know, and that it was irrelevant either way.