Daily case average falls below 4,000 for first time since July 9
Florida reported 3,549 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, sending the 7-day average to its lowest level since July 9, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The state also increased its COVID-related death count by 782 on Thursday. Deaths are counted on the day they occur, not the day they are reported and can take up to two weeks or more to be reflected in the data. The Sun Sentinel calculates the daily change in the state’s total death county for its analysis, so the new deaths reported Thursday occurred over the previous few weeks.
The average for new cases dropped to 3,854 on Thursday and the average for deaths based on the date reported dropped to 200. There have been at least 3,597,731 COVID cases and 56,407 deaths in Florida since the start of the pandemic.
Hospitalizations also continued to drop. As of Wednesday, 4,307 patients were in Florida hospitals with COVID-19, the lowest it has been since July 18.
Here are the latest statistics:
The CDC on Tuesday updated its county-by county COVID numbers, which it has released weekly. South Florida counties have among the lowest cases per capita in the state, this week’s data shows. The statistics are for the week of Sept. 27-Oct. 3. Over the previous week:
Palm Beach County saw a 19% drop in cases and a 43% drop in deaths;
Broward County saw a 19% drop in cases and a 15% drop in deaths;
Miami-Dade County saw a 33% drop in cases and a 35% drop;
Orange County saw a 27% drop in cases and a 54% drop in deaths.
Florida continues to drop in rankings of cases per capita, falling to 44th as of Wednesday, according to New York Times data. The data shows 20 COVID cases per 100,000 population in Florida. Alaska ranked first with 125 average cases per 100,000 as of Oct. 6.
After ranking first for several weeks among states in deaths per capita, Florida has dropped to 7th as of Wednesday, the Times data shows, with 1.03 deaths per 100,000 residents. West Virginia ranked first as of Oct. 6 with 1.56 deaths per 100,000.
Florida’s positivity rate has been declining since mid-August, a further indication the state may have passed the peak of the delta surge. The state releases positivity data weekly.