The state’s daily tally for the coronavirus pandemic rolled in Tuesday with 3,266 new cases and another 106 deaths.
Since the pandemic began, state officials have reported 704,568 COVID-19 cases, based on reports from the Florida Department of Health. As of Tuesday, 14,143 residents have died from the disease. Another 170 non-residents have also died.
Most of these deaths happened weeks ago, but were just confirmed as virus fatalities.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the focus now is on protecting those residents most vulnerable to the disease, including the elderly and people with underlying health conditions.
With cases and hospitalizations on a downswing, DeSantis said it’s important to keep schools and businesses open. On Friday, DeSantis announced that the state was ready to move into the third and final phase of recovery. That paved the way for bars in South Florida to reopen after being shuttered for months due to the pandemic.
On Tuesday, the governor defended the state’s move into Phase 3, referring to the shutdown in March as “Pandemic 101.”
“We want people in school,” DeSantis said. “We want people in college. And we want people to work.”
Still, some health officials are warning of the dangers of a second wave and a potential spike in cases as Florida and other states move forward with their reopening plans.
“As we get into the fall and the winter, you really want the level of community spread to be as low as you possibility get it,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, recently told ABC News.
“There’s certainly parts of the country that are doing well, but there are states that are starting to show an uptick in cases and even some increases in hospitalizations in some states,” said Fauci, who heads the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force. “And I hope not, but we very well might start seeing increases in deaths.”
Worldwide, more than 1 million have died from the highly infectious coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
The U.S. has the highest number of deaths, with at least 205,345 as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. More than 33.4 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 across the globe. That includes more than 7 million in the U.S.
Cases in Florida spiked in July but have since been trending downward.
The numbers reported Tuesday represent a sharp decline from the state’s record totals of 277 deaths on Aug. 11 and 15,300 cases on July 12.
On Tuesday, the number of new cases reported during September went above 3,000 for the 11th time. The state reported 7,569 new cases on Sept. 1, the highest number this month. The second-highest — 3,656 new cases — was reported on Sept. 5.
Florida ranks third overall for total number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., behind California and Texas.
California and Texas are the nation’s most populous states, followed by Florida and New York.
Florida’s COVID-19 death rate is 12th among states in the nation — tied with Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Florida has recorded 65 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker.
The data for New York City, the nation’s original coronavirus epicenter, shows 283 deaths per 100,000 people. For New York State, excluding the city, it’s 81 deaths per 100,000.
New Jersey has recorded 180 deaths per 100,000. In Texas, it’s 54 per 100,000 and in California it’s 39.
South Florida
Broward County: 248 additional confirmed coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday. The county has tallied 77,122 cases and 1,411 deaths, four more than Monday’s total. The death tally includes 27 non-residents.
Palm Beach County: 175 additional cases of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday. The county has had 46,485 confirmed cases and 1,371 deaths linked to the disease — including 21 non-residents. Seven new deaths were reported on Tuesday.
Miami-Dade County: 620 additional cases were reported Tuesday. The county has had a total of 170,086 cases and 3,264 deaths. Tuesday’s daily report showed 15 more resident deaths than Monday. The total death tally includes 21 non-residents.
Testing and positivity rates
More than 5.29 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida since the pandemic began, producing an overall positivity rate of 13.3%, state data show. At least 704,568 people have tested positive and 4.58 million people have tested negative.
In South Florida, the cumulative positivity rates are 18.56% for Miami-Dade County, 13.56% for Broward County and 12.61% for Palm Beach County. As of Tuesday, 916,538 people have been swabbed in Miami-Dade, 568,601 people have been tested in Broward, and 368,531 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Palm Beach County.
Tuesday’s daily testing positivity rate for Florida was at 5.01%, state officials reported.
The rate was at 4.22% on Monday, up from 4.04% on Sunday. The rate dipped to 3.85% on Sept. 13, the lowest in three months.
This figure reflects only new infections based on COVID-19 testing for the day. It does not count people who previously tested positive for the disease.
The World Health Organization has advised governments that before reopening, the rate should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
The daily positivity rates reported Tuesday were 3.11% for Broward County, up from 1.74% the day before; 4.14% for Palm Beach County, up from 2.06%; and 6.87% for Miami-Dade County, up from 2.72%.
Tuesday’s report from the state shows test results for 70,893 Florida residents. That’s more than three times the 20,991 results reported on Monday. The results include retests of people who were previously diagnosed.
Hospitalizations
Since the pandemic began, a total of 43,855 state residents have been hospitalized for the disease in Florida, according to the state Department of Health. That’s 249 more than the day before.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, 2,427 people across the state were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19. That’s 308 more than were reported as of 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
Broward County reported 210 patients currently hospitalized, 12 more than the previous day; Palm Beach County had 124, nine more than on Monday; and Miami-Dade had the most in the state with 363. That’s 127 more than on Monday.
The online report from the state Agency for Health Care Administration updates several times throughout the day. Hospitalizations have been going down since hitting a peak in late July.
Deaths
Statewide: The official COVID-19 report, updated Tuesday, shows 14,143 Florida resident deaths. In addition, 170 non-resident deaths have been attributed to the virus in the state. That brings the total death count to 14,313.
The state does not say whether the victims had underlying health conditions.
Over the past seven days, Florida has reported an average of 105 deaths and an average of 2,380 cases on the daily data reports.
The state’s seven-day average of reported deaths was also at 105 on Sept. 6. And on Sept. 8, the seven-day average of cases was at 2,722.
Long-term care facilities: At least 5,768 deaths have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted-living centers throughout Florida. That’s 47 more than reported Monday.
Miami-Dade County reported the highest number of deaths at long-term care facilities, with 796, one more than the previous day; Palm Beach County reported 589, four more than on Monday; and Broward reported 401, three more than Monday.
National and global view
U.S.: More than 7.16 million people in the country have been infected with the novel coronavirus and 205,345 have died as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
World: At least 33.4 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,003,337 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 21.4% of the world’s cases and 20.46% of the world’s deaths.
Other countries with high COVID-19 death tolls are Brazil with 142,058, India with 96,318, Mexico with 76,603 and the United Kingdom with 42,161.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554 or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan
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