MIAMI — Florida's Department of Health on Thursday reported 5,117 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the fewest since Nov. 16, when 4,663 were reported. South Florida's counties also all reported fewer than 1,000 new cases.
Also reported were 166 total deaths, 163 of which were Florida residents. Miami-Dade, which usually reports the most new deaths, reported fewer than Broward and Palm Beach counties on Thursday.
For the novel coronavirus pandemic, Florida has had 1,849,744 total cases, 29,474 resident deaths, 516 non-resident deaths, and 29,990 total deaths.
As for the positive test rates, Wednesday's was 6.4%, a decrease from Tuesday's 6.42%. The state reported 79,239 people were tested on Wednesday, down from 112,922 a day earlier.
More than 1.2 million Floridians have been vaccinated, having received both doses of either Pfizer or Moderna.
COVID vaccines in Florida and South Florida
—Florida: The state's vaccination report says another 22,105 people have received the first COVID-19 vaccine dose and 22,055 received their second dose, meaning 1,319,799 people are halfway through the vaccine and 1,232,083 are fully vaccinated.
—Miami-Dade County: The state reported 2,077 people completed their vaccinations, meaning 139,689 in Miami-Dade have received both vaccination shots.
—Broward: Another 2,360 people completed their vaccinations, putting Broward's completed vaccine total at 124,487.
—Palm Beach: After 2,501 people completed their vaccine treatment, 111,448 in Palm Beach County have received both shots.
—Monroe: Another 74 people completed their vaccine shot treatment. Overall, 5,227 have done so.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida
—Miami-Dade County reported 817 more people who tested positive and 13 more COVID-19 deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 398,043 cases and 5,242 deaths. The positive test rate on Wednesday was 6.01%, down from the previous day's 6.32%.
—Broward County reported another 601 cases and 14 deaths, moving its totals to 187,432 cases and 2,297 deaths. Broward's positive test rate was 6.58%, an increase from 6.49%.
—Palm Beach County reported 415 new cases, bringing its total coronavirus cases to 116,209 and 21 new deaths to bring its cumulative toll to 2,383. Palm Beach's positive rate was 6.22%, down from 7.71%.
—Monroe County reported seven new cases and no new deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are 5,633 cases and 44 deaths. Monroe's positive test rate Wednesday was 2.43%, down from 11.61%.
Current hospitalizations
Government officials use current hospitalizations to decide the next action in dealing with the pandemic. On the state level, this has been steadily falling over the last month.
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, do 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 a.m. Thursday, the agency said there were 4,373 people hospitalized. Of these, Miami-Dade reported 665; Broward, 583; Palm Beach, 348; and Monroe, three.
