Florida crossed a grim marker Thursday: Over 9,000 people in the state have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
State health officials reported 6,236 new coronavirus infections Thursday, along with 148 new deaths, putting the total dead at 9,046.
The state released its latest figures about 12:30 p.m., hours later than usual. No explanation was given for the late posting of the data.
The 148 deaths represents a decline from the record 277 coronavirus deaths reported Wednesday. However, these daily totals do not reflect deaths in only the past 24 hours, but rather recent weeks.
Florida’s new COVID-19 cases remain far below record highs, with Thursday marking the 19th straight day the state has reported less than 10,000 cases in a day.
However, Thursday’s case total of 6,236 does represent an increase over Wednesday’s 5,831 reported cases. Test results reported on a single day typically reflect tests taken over several days.
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Overall, 557,137 people in Florida have been diagnosed with infections. The peak for one day was 15,300 cases reported on July 12.
The daily COVID-19 testing positivity rate over the past two weeks has ranged from 8.36% to 11.87%, and was 9.52% based on Wednesday’s test results, records show. The state processed 67,000 results over the previous day.
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Public health experts say the positivity rate shows the prevalence of the disease in the population. The World Health Organization had advised governments that before reopening, the rate should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
South Florida
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 2,648 new cases in the past day, or 42.5% of the daily total for the state.
Broward County: 661 new coronavirus cases were reported Wednesday, bringing the total to 64,741. The median age of those infected in the county is 39. A total of 883 people in Broward have died from the virus, 24 more than reported Tuesday.
Palm Beach County: 274 new cases, bringing the total to 38,208. A total of 964 people have died, 10 more than reported the previous day. The median age of those infected in the county is 41.
Miami-Dade County: 1,713 new cases, bringing the total to 140,984. A total of 1,954 people have died. That’s 15 more than reported Tuesday. The median age of those infected in the county is 43.
The most recent data concerning infections among children under age 18 show 289,145 have been tested for COVID-19 statewide. About 15.2% of them, or 43,828, have tested positive.
South Florida has had 42%, or 18,776, of the cases involving children. That includes 9,362 cases in Miami-Dade County, highest in the state, 6,546 in Broward and 2,868 in Palm Beach County.
Testing and positivity rate
A total of 4.1 million people have been swabbed in Florida since the pandemic began, producing a positivity rate of 13.49%. The state reports that 3.5 million people have tested negative. At the end of May, Florida’s positivity rate was about 5.6%.
In South Florida the positivity rates on Tuesday were 9.1% for Broward, up from Tuesdays 8.4%; 12.7% for Miami-Dade, down from 18.3%; and 7.0% for Palm Beach County, which is up from 6.1%.
Palm Beach County Health Department Director Dr. Alina Alonso said during Tuesday’s County Commission meeting the goal is for that number to fall below 5%, which would allow for effective contact tracing.
When a case comes back as positive, a contact tracer gets in touch with the person to do just what the name suggests: figure out whom they’ve been in contact with in the past two weeks. Those people can then be contacted and isolated so they don’t expose other people.
Hospitalizations
Across the state, 6,325 people were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 as of about 1 p.m. Thursday. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day. Broward County reported 867 patients hospitalized, Palm Beach County had 387, and Miami-Dade had 1,292, the most in the state.
The number of people in hospitals for COVID-19 has been declining. The total hospitalized for the disease two weeks ago was nearly 9,000.
Deaths
Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 9,046 on Wednesday. That figure includes 133 people who were not residents. South Florida’s reported deaths on Tuesday rose by 49 for a total of 3,728, about 43% of the state’s total.
COVID-19 is the state’s deadliest infectious disease. Throughout 2019, there were 2,703 deaths attributed to the flu and pneumonia in Florida, records show.
Nationwide: Florida’s death rate ranks 18th in the United States when compared with other states and the District of Columbia, with 41 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s COVID Data Tracker.
The CDC does not list a death rate for New York State that includes New York City. The data for just New York City, the nation’s original coronavirus epicenter, shows 281 deaths per 100,000 people. For New York State, excluding the city, it’s 80 deaths per 100,000.
Texas has 29 deaths per 100,000, and California has 26. California and Texas are the most populous states, followed by Florida and New York.
Global view
Worldwide: The virus has infected 20.6 million people and has killed over 750,000 worldwide as of 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.
U.S.: The United States has over 5.1 million cases, the highest total in the world, and at least 165,148 are dead, the most fatalities of any country. The U.S. has 4.3% of the world’s population, but 25.3% of the world’s cases and 22.2% of the world’s deaths.
