Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Florida reports 3,689 new infections
Tally down from Thursday; 73 new deaths recorded
Florida on Friday reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases for the sixth time in less than two weeks, as the state has seen infection totals rise higher than earlier this month.
State health officials reported 3,689 new coronavirus cases on Friday and an additional 73 deaths.
The tally for new cases is down from Thursday’s report of 5,557 new cases, the most since mid-August.
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 six days with more than 3,000 new cases.
The seven-day average of new cases as of Friday’s report is 3,299, according to Department of Health records.
In total, 771,780 people in Florida have tested positive for COVID-19.
There also have been 16,544 people who have died from the disease, a number that includes 203 non-residents of the state.
The state has tested 5.87 million people since the pandemic began and 5.09 million have tested negative.
The cumulative positivity rate for the state since the pandemic began stands at 13.14% according to state records.
The Department of Health said it collected 100,179 COVID-19 results from laboratories on Thursday, which was down slightly from 106,103 the day before.
Testing and positivity rates
According to one of the 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 4% on Friday, down from 5.62% on Thursday, 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 14.3% for Thursday, the latest day reported. Unlike state data, Johns Hopkins University counts only firsttime test takers in its positivity rate.
In recent days, Johns Hopkins 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.”
South Florida
Broward County: 456 additional confirmed coronavirus cases and no more deaths. The county has a known total of 82,706 cases and 1,548 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Test results for 9,737 county residents were tallied on Thursday and reported Friday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 4.56% for people with new infections only. That’s down from 4.91% the previous day.
Palm Beach County: 229 additional cases of COVID19 and nine more deaths. The county now has 49,988 confirmed cases and 1,582 deaths. Test results for 7,138 county residents were tallied on Thursday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 3.19% for people with new infections only, down from 5.58% the previous day.
Miami-DadeCounty: 520 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths. The county now has 181,017 confirmed cases and 3,618 deaths. Test results for 16,110 county residents were tallied on Thursday, leading to a daily positivity rate of 3.11% for people with new infections only. That’s down from 5.19% the previous day.
Hospitalizations
As of noon Friday, 2,115 people across the state were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, slightly higher than the 2,073 hospitalized at about the same time on Thursday.
In South Florida, Broward County reported 193 patients hospitalized, up from 185 the previous day; Palm Beach County had 118, an increase of four; and Miami-Dade had the most in the state with 277 people hospitalized, an increase of three.
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 47,953 residents have been hospitalized for the disease in Florida, according to a separate report by the state health department.
Deaths
Statewide: Friday’s report shows a total of 16,340 Florida resident deaths. In addition, 204 nonresident deaths have been attributed to the virus.
Florida’s COVID-19 death rate since the pandemic began is ninth among states, at 76 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.
Florida’s COVID-19 death rate in the last seven days also ranks ninth among states, at 0.4 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the CDC. That’s also higher than the national rate of 0.2 deaths per 100,000.
Long-term-care facilities: At least 6,618 deaths have occurred among residents and staff at nursing homes and assisted-living centers throughout Florida. That’s 27 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 710, and Broward has reported 441 deaths.
National and global view
U.S.: About 8.4 million people in the country have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 223,226 are known to have died as of about noon Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
World: At least 41.9 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,139,296 people have died from the disease, according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. has had the most COVID-19 cases and deaths of any country.
The U.S. has 4.3% of the world’s population, but 20.2% of the world’s cases and 19.6% of the world’s deaths.