Florida adds 6,979 new COVID cases, and 197 deaths push the total past 27,000
Florida’s Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed 6,979 additional cases of COVID-19. The state’s known total is now at 1,744,619.
Florida is the third-highest state in the country in terms of cases after California and Texas, according to the New York Times database of U.S. cases.
Additionally, the state announced 197 resident deaths to bring the resident death toll to 27,019.
Six new non-resident deaths were also announced Wednesday, bringing the non-resident toll to 453 and the state’s cumulative number of deaths to 27,472.
Coronavirus vaccines in Florida
According to the state’s Wednesday COVID-19 vaccination report, 1,367,011 received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida and 421,315 people have completed the series of two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. According to the state, that means 1,788,326 have been vaccinated.
Of those who completed the two-dose vaccination, 66,759 were Miami-Dade County residents, 38,274 were Broward residents, 29,822 were Palm Beach residents and 1,184 were Monroe residents.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,230 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 376,552 confirmed cases and 4,919 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 7.7% to 7.34%. The 14-day percent positivity average went from 8.44% to 8.14%, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard.
▪ Broward County reported 627 additional confirmed cases of the disease and six new deaths. The county has a known total of 175,306 cases and 2,125 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 8.19% to 7.08%.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 412 additional confirmed cases and 13 new deaths. The county now has 108,585 confirmed cases and 2,212 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 7.84% to 7.66%.
▪ Monroe County confirmed 21 additional cases and one new death. The county has a known total of 5,413 cases and 41 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 7.48% to 3.88%.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida
One of the tools that officials rely on to determine whether the coronavirus situation is improving in the state is hospitalization data. Unlike testing, which might be limited or takes days to report results, hospitalizations can help give officials a real-time snapshot of how many people are severely ill with COVID-19.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports the number of patients hospitalized statewide with a “primary diagnosis of COVID.” The data, which is updated at least every hour, does not distinguish between the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital intensive care units and those in acute-care beds, which require less attention from nurses.
As of 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, there were 5,849 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. While hospitalizations are showing a decrease, this is still near mid-August levels, when more than 7,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted daily into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Wednesday’s hospitalizations, 879 were in Miami-Dade, 643 in Broward, 409 in Palm Beach and five in Monroe, according to the agency.
Florida’s current hospitalization data does not always match the hospitalization data reported in Miami-Dade’s “New Normal” dashboard. Officials say this could be for a number of reasons, including the frequency of daily updates.
On Wednesday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from 1,004 to 957, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Wednesday’s data, 154 people were discharged and 79 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 72,858 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
Coronavirus testing in Florida
Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’ progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to loosen restrictions.
Epidemiologists use the testing data to create a positivity rate. The rate helps them determine if a rise in cases is because of an increase in testing or whether there’s increased transmission of the virus in the community.
On Wednesday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 87,088 people tested on Tuesday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 8.36% to 7.77%.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Florida adds 6,979 new COVID cases, and 197 deaths push the total past 27,000."
