Coronavirus: Florida breaks record with 216 more deaths, passes 450,000 COVID-19 cases

A Miami Beach code compliance officer talks to two men about wearing a protective face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic on Ocean Drive. People found not wearing a mask are subject to a civil fine. (Lynne Sladky, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida has passed 450,000 coronavirus cases and set another record for deaths reported in a day.

The state confirmed 9,446 more COVID-19 cases Wednesday and 216 residents’ deaths. That comes a day after Florida announced a then-record 186 new deaths. (The fatalities reported on a given day are not necessarily all from the previous 24 hours.)

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Florida is now up to 451,423 cases and 6,333 resident deaths attributed to the virus since the start of the outbreak, according to the Florida Department of Health. At least 124 more nonresidents have died in Florida, including one more reported Wednesday.

The new deaths announced Wednesday include 31 in Broward County, 30 in Miami-Dade and 21 in Palm Beach County.

Florida over the weekend passed New York and now has the second-most cases in the United States, behind only California.

County-by-county numbers

In the past day, Miami-Dade County’s confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 2,791 to 113,143. The county has 1,455 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest total in the state.

Broward’s cases increased by 1,313 to 52,970. The county’s death toll is now at 638.

Palm Beach County’s cases increased by 573 to 32,171, with the death toll now at 795.

Monroe County is now listed with 1,198 cases, a one-day increase of 23, and six deaths.

Florida has confirmed at least 25,499 coronavirus-related hospitalizations since the start of the outbreak.

Tracking the records

Florida’s most cases announced in a day: 15,300 on July 12

Florida’s most deaths announced in a day: 216 on July 29

Miami-Dade’s most cases announced in a day: 3,576 on July 12

Broward’s most cases announced in a day: 1,772 on July 12

Palm Beach’s most cases announced in a day: 1,171 on July 12

Monroe’s most cases announced in a day: 84 on July 24

Positivity rates

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

Statewide, Florida reports having completed over 3.5 million tests for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, with 12.78% coming back positive. The state says its target is to stay below 10% positivity.

The rate of positivity among people tested for COVID-19 across Florida topped out at over 18% for tests processed July 8. Positivity statewide has remained between 10% and 13% throughout the past week. (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.)

A look at the percentage of COVID-19 tests that have come back positive over recent days in 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 – 26.3%
  • 7/9 – 20.3%
  • 7/10 – 21.5%
  • 7/11 – 16.6%
  • 7/12 – 20.3%
  • 7/13 – 22.2%
  • 7/14 – 20.0%
  • 7/15 – 18.6%
  • 7/16 – 18.3%
  • 7/17 – 17.5%
  • 7/18 – 20.6%
  • 7/19 – 22.7%
  • 7/20 – 19.3%
  • 7/21 – 16.7%
  • 7/22 – 18.6%
  • 7/23 – 19.8%
  • 7/24 – 19.7%
  • 7/25 – 18.1%
  • 7/26 – 18.2%
  • 7/27 – 17.5%
  • 7/28 – 16.3%

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 – 16.3%
  • 7/5 – 15.9%
  • 7/6 – 12.9%
  • 7/7 – 14.0%
  • 7/8 – 22.5%
  • 7/9 – 14.9%
  • 7/10 – 15.8%
  • 7/11 – 13.4%
  • 7/12 – 13.8%
  • 7/13 – 16.0%
  • 7/14 – 14.8%
  • 7/15 – 16.6%
  • 7/16 – 14.3%
  • 7/17 – 13.7%
  • 7/18 – 12.6%
  • 7/19 – 17.6%
  • 7/20 – 15.1%
  • 7/21 – 12.3%
  • 7/22 – 14.1%
  • 7/23 – 15.7%
  • 7/24 – 12.9%
  • 7/25 – 12.2%
  • 7/26 – 13.2%
  • 7/27 – 10.8%
  • 7/28 – 12.7%

Hospitals and testing

Hospital leaders and medical workers on the front lines are closely watching dwindling bed space and some have had to increase their ICU capacity to treat patients.

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

Five new federally-funded testing sites have recently opened in South Florida as increased demand for tests has led to longer lines and delays with getting results back.

The state has also added self-swab testing at some of its sites — including Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale — in an attempt to speed up the process.

Latest totals

The United States has passed 4.3 million confirmed cases, with over 149,000 deaths from COVID-19, the highest numbers in the world. Over 1.3 million 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 16.7 million. There have been more than 660,000 deaths worldwide attributed to the pandemic, with over 9.7 million being declared recovered.

Florida’s daily new cases have trended as follows:

  • Wednesday: 9,446
  • Tuesday: 9,230
  • Monday: 8,892
  • Sunday: 9,344
  • Saturday: 12,199
  • Friday: 12,444
  • Thursday: 10,249
  • July 22: 9,785
  • July 21: 9,440
  • July 20: 10,347
  • July 19: 12,478
  • July 18: 10,328
  • July 17: 11,466
  • July 16: 13,965
  • July 15: 10,181
  • July 14: 9,194
  • July 13: 12,624
  • July 12: 15,300
  • July 11: 10,360
  • July 10: 11,433
  • July 9: 8,935
  • July 8: 9,989
  • July 7: 7,347
  • July 6: 6,336
  • July 5: 10,059
  • July 4: 11,458
  • July 3: 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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