MIAMI — After taking Christmas Day off as a holiday, and with most state COVID-19 testing sites closed on Friday, Florida's Department of Health resumed reporting COVID-19 numbers on Saturday.
The state confirmed 17,042 additional cases of the novel coronavirus, a two-day figure, to bring the state's known total to 1,264,588.
The state has reported single-day totals of more than 10,000 for 14 days in December from Dec. 1 to Christmas Eve on Thursday, when 13,147 cases were confirmed — similar to July's peak.
Also, 140 new resident deaths were announced in Saturday's two-fer, bringing the resident toll to 21,135.
Florida posted similar totals after Thanksgiving in a two-day report on Nov. 27: 17,344 cases and 109 deaths.
Two new non-resident deaths were also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 302.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida:
— Miami-Dade County reported 3,377 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Thursday, bringing the county's known total to 286,662, according to Florida's Department of Health. For more than half of the month, Miami-Dade has reported more than 2,000 cases a day.
Nineteen new deaths were also announced, bringing the toll to 4,127. Percent positivity for new cases increased from Thursday's 6.7% to 9.43%. The14-day average positivity rate is 8.52%.
— Broward County reported 1,215 additional confirmed cases and 13 new deaths. The county's known total is now at 132,193 cases and 1,811 deaths. Percent positivity increased from 5.91% to 6.45%.
— Palm Beach County saw 978 additional confirmed cases and two new deaths. The county has 79,830 confirmed cases and 1,860 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 6.74% to 6.03%.
— Monroe County confirmed 27 additional cases and one new death. The county has a known total of 4,137 cases and 34 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 10.08% to 3.85%.
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 a.m. Saturday, there were 5,636 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. This number is at mid-August levels, when more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Saturday's hospitalizations, 971 were in Miami-Dade, 543 in Broward, 295 in Palm Beach and two 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 Saturday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications decreased from Thursday's 1,037 to 1,036, according to Miami-Dade County's "New Normal" dashboard. According to Saturday's data, 92 people were discharged and 87 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 61,288 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida's COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
COVID-19 Testing in Florida:
Testing in Florida has seen steady growth since the COVID-19 crisis began.
Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus' progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders and 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 Saturday, Florida's Department of Health reported the results of 74,659 people tested since Thursday, which is fewer because of the Christmas closure of state sites. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 7.82% to 7.98%.
