Coronavirus: Florida passes 4,000 deaths from COVID-19 after reporting record 120 in one day

Miami-Dade and Broward reach highest levels of percent positivity

A member of the Florida National Guard monitors vehicles waiting in line outside the COVID-19 testing site at Marlins Park on Monday. (Lynne Sladky, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida has lost more than 4,000 residents to COVID-19 after reporting 120 deaths and 8,935 new cases on Thursday morning. The 120 deaths are the most the state has announced in a single day.

The state is now up to 232,718 confirmed cases with 4,009 resident deaths associated with the novel coronavirus, according to the latest data released by the health department.

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The new deaths include 24 in Miami-Dade County, eight in Broward, and nine in Palm Beach County.

The percentage of tests coming back positive has also reached record levels — both locally and statewide.

In Miami-Dade, 26.2% of the tests processed Wednesday came back positive. In Broward, the percent positivity was 22.7%. Both are new highs.

Statewide, that number reached a new high at 18.39%. (This percentage is the number of people who test positive for the first time divided by all the people tested that day, excluding people who have previously tested positive.)

Miami-Dade has responded to the recent sharp rise in cases by shutting down restaurant dine-in service, effective Thursday. Broward County has also signed a new emergency order that limits restaurant service, and Monroe has likewise discussed additional protective measures.

The state set a one-day record with 11,458 new cases reported Saturday and followed that with 10,059 on Sunday, pushing Florida over 200,000 cases since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

County-by-county

In the past day, Miami-Dade County’s confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 1,987 to 55,961. The county has 1,092 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest total in the state. Miami-Dade had set a record Wednesday with 2,916 new cases.

Broward’s cases increased by 1,321 to 25,102. The county’s death toll is now at 427.

Palm Beach County’s cases increased by 425 to 18,656, with the death toll now at 578.

Monroe County is now listed with 445 cases (a one-day increase of 18) and six deaths.

Medical experts and elected leaders have noted a rising number of cases among younger patients, which they’ve attributed to more widely available testing and people coming closer together both as businesses reopen and while attending large protests in recent weeks.

Florida has confirmed at least 17,167 coronavirus-related hospitalizations since the start of the outbreak.

Positivity rates rise

Florida has seen a steady increase in the rate of COVID-19 tests that are coming back positive, showing that the increase in cases is caused by more than just increased testing.

Statewide, Florida reports having completed over 2.3 million tests for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, with 9.9% coming back positive.

The rate of positivity among people tested for COVID-19 across Florida has been higher over the past two weeks than previously, topping out at over 18% for tests processed Wednesday.

The percentage of COVID-19 tests that came back positive has reached a new single-day high for Florida. (Florida Department of Health)

Here’s a look at how those percentages have trended in Miami-Dade and Broward counties:

MIAMI-DADE

  • 6/13 – 3.0%
  • 6/14 – 8.9%
  • 6/15 – 9.0%
  • 6/16 – 12.8%
  • 6/17 – 11.2%
  • 6/18 – 11.1%
  • 6/19 – 11.7%
  • 6/20 – 13.3%
  • 6/21 – 8.9%
  • 6/22 – 18.1%
  • 6/23 – 19.6%
  • 6/24 – 10.2%
  • 6/25 – 14.2%
  • 6/26 – 14.0%
  • 6/27 – 17.7%
  • 6/28 – 18.5%
  • 6/29 – 17.7%
  • 6/30 – 18.2%
  • 7/1 – 19.5%
  • 7/2 – 20.9%
  • 7/3 – 18.9%
  • 7/4 – 20.5%
  • 7/5 – 19.9%
  • 7/6 – 20.9%
  • 7/7 – 21.9%
  • 7/8 – 26.2%

BROWARD

  • 6/13 – 2.7%
  • 6/14 – 5.1%
  • 6/15 – 7.6%
  • 6/16 – 9.8%
  • 6/17 – 7.3%
  • 6/18 – 8.9%
  • 6/19 – 9.7%
  • 6/20 – 9.6%
  • 6/21 – 6.1%
  • 6/22 – 10.2%
  • 6/23 – 10.7%
  • 6/24 – 6.4%
  • 6/25 – 11.4%
  • 6/26 – 10.2%
  • 6/27 – 10.4%
  • 6/28 – 12.0%
  • 6/29 – 13.5%
  • 6/30 – 14.7%
  • 7/1 – 13.5%
  • 7/2 – 16.2%
  • 7/3 – 14.0%
  • 7/4 – 16.4%
  • 7/5 – 15.8%
  • 7/6 – 13.0%
  • 7/7 – 13.9%
  • 7/8 – 22.7%

Hospitals and testing

Hospital leaders and medical workers on the front lines are closely watching bed space and ICU capacity, which are both dwindling. There’s a sense that South Florida’s hospitals could be full by the end of the month at the current pace.

Both Jackson Health System and Memorial Healthcare System have suspended non-emergency inpatient procedures to protect that capacity.

The state tracks its hospital space by county and by facility, which can be seen here.

Meanwhile, more residents are going out to get tested for COVID-19, which has led to longer lines and delays with getting results back.

Latest totals

The United States has passed 3 million confirmed cases, with over 132,000 deaths from COVID-19, the highest numbers in the world. Over 953,000 Americans have been deemed recovered, according to data compiled from various sources by Johns Hopkins University.

Worldwide, the number of COVID-19 cases reported has surpassed 12 million. There have been more than 550,000 deaths worldwide attributed to the pandemic, with over 6.6 million being declared recovered.

Florida’s daily new cases have trended sharply upward over the past month:

  • Thursday: 8,935
  • Wednesday: 9,989
  • Tuesday: 7,347
  • Monday: 6,336
  • Sunday: 10,059
  • Saturday: 11,458
  • Friday: 9,488
  • July 2: 10,109
  • July 1: 6,563
  • June 30: 6,093
  • June 29: 5,266
  • June 28: 8,530
  • June 27: 9,585
  • June 26: 8,942
  • June 25: 5,004
  • June 24: 5,511
  • June 23: 3,289
  • June 22: 2,926
  • June 21: 3,494
  • June 20: 4,049
  • June 19: 3,822
  • June 18: 3,207
  • June 17: 2,610
  • June 16: 2,783
  • June 15: 1,758
  • June 14: 2,016
  • June 13: 2,581
  • June 12: 1,902
  • June 11: 1,698
  • June 10: 1,371
  • June 9: 1,096

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