State reports 5,557 new cases

Daily count is highest in Florida since Aug. 15

Florida health officials reported 5,557 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the latest indication that infection totals are trending higher since earlier in the month.

It’s the most new COVID-19 cases in one day since the state tallied 6,352 cases on Aug. 15.

The seven-day average number of new cases in Florida was below 3,000 from Sept. 8 to Oct. 13. Since then, there have been five days with more than 3,000 new cases.

Public health experts recently have expressed concern that Florida could be at risk of a new wave of infections, as much of the nation is experiencing.

The higher cases reported Thursday could also be due in part to a major increase in test results processed over the past day. The state Department of Health said it collected 106,103 COVID19 results from laboratories on Wednesday, which was up from 34,718 the day before and 63,420 results two days ago.

Including Thursday’s results, the state Department of Health says at least 768,091 people have tested positive for the highly contagious disease since the start of the pandemic.

Also, officials said another 57 people have died from COVID-19. The overall total is 16,470 deaths, including 203 non-residents who died in the state.

But the state says it is reviewing the accuracy of its fatality data. Health officials on Wednesday announced that “fatality data reported to the state consistently presents confusion and warrants a more rigorous review.”

In a news release, officials high

lighted concerns about 95 deaths reported to the state on Tuesday. The department said 16 of the deaths occurred more than two months after the person tested positive, and in five cases, there was a threemonth gap between the time of infection and death.

“To ensure the accuracy of COVID-19 related deaths, the Department will be performing additional reviews of all deaths,” said Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees. “Timely and accurate data remains a top priority of the Department of Health.”

According to two different measures of daily COVID-19 positivity rates, the state is above the 5% level where public health experts say the virus is under control.

Florida Department of Health: The state reported a daily positivity rate of 5.62% on Thursday, down from 6.73% on Wednesday based on Florida’s method of calculating positivity that counts new infections only, but also counts repeat negative tests.

Johns Hopkins University: This measure shows Florida’s positivity rate at 12.8% for Tuesday, the latest day reported. Unlike state data, Johns Hopkins University counts only firsttime test takers in its positivity rate. Johns Hopkins has posted a new disclaimer for its statewide data, noting “anomalies in testing data” and an ongoing evaluation “to ensure that we can present the most responsible and accurate view of state test positivity data.”

Florida health officials reported Thursday that 5.82 million people in Florida have been swabbed for the virus since March. At least 5.05 million have tested negative.

The overall positivity rate in that time is 13.18%, state data shows.

Broward County: 546 additional confirmed coronavirus cases and no more deaths. The county has a known total of 82,250 cases and 1,548 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Test results for 11,130 county residents were tallied on Wednesday and reported Thursday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 4.91% for people with new infections only. That’s down from 5.85% the previous day.

PalmBeachCounty: 379 additional cases of COVID19 and no more deaths. The county now has 49,759 confirmed cases and 1,573 deaths. The state on Thursday adjusted the county’s death toll, lowering the total by four. Test results for 6,526 county residents were tallied on Wednesday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 5.58%, up from 4.54% the previous day.

Miami-Dade County: 853 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 13 more deaths. The county

now has 180,497 confirmed cases and 3,606 deaths. Test results for 16,104 county residents were tallied on Wednesday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 5.19% for people with new infections only. That’s up from 5.15% the previous day.

Hospitalizations

As of 12:30 p.m. Thursday, 2,073 people across the state were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, lower than the 2,125 hospitalized at about the same time on Wednesday.

In South Florida, Broward County reported 185 patients hospitalized, down from 208 the previous day; Palm Beach County had 114, an increase of two; and Miami-Dade had the most in the state with 275 people hospitalized, also up two.

The online report from the state Agency for Health Care Administration updates several times throughout the day. Hospitalizations hit a peak in late July of about 9,500 patients.

Since the pandemic began, a total of 47,765 residents have been hospitalized for the disease in Florida, according to a separate report by the state health department.

Deaths

Statewide: Thursday’s report shows a total of 16,267 Florida resident deaths. In addition, 203 non-resident deaths have been attributed to the virus.

Florida’s COVID - 19 death rate since the pandemic began is ninth among states, at 75 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s higher than the national rate of 67 deaths per 100,000.

Long-term care facilities: At least 6,591 deaths have occurred among residents and staff at nursing homes and assisted-living centers throughout Florida. That’s 14 additional deaths in the past day.

Miami-Dade County has reported the highest number of deaths at long-term care facilities, with 839. Palm Beach County is second with 704, and Broward has reported 441 deaths.