MIAMI — Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 9,411 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,143,794. Also, 79 new resident deaths were announced for a statewide resident toll of 20,082.
Fifteen new nonresident deaths were also announced, bringing the nonresident toll to 283, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida:
— Miami-Dade County reported 2,160 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county has 262,298 confirmed cases and 4,005 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 9.12% to 9.02%.
— Broward County reported 672 additional confirmed cases and three new deaths. The county has a known total of 121,512 cases and 1,750 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 7.53% to 8.08%.
— Palm Beach County saw 463 additional confirmed cases and 11 new deaths. The county has 73,542 confirmed cases and 1,785 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 5.67% to 8.19%.
— Monroe County confirmed 29 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 3,868 cases and 28 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 5.05% to 5.73%.
One of the tools 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.
Previously, the state was providing only the total number of hospitalizations in its statewide and county-level data. Miami-Dade was an exception, with hospitals self-reporting a number of key metrics, including hospitalizations, to the county, which has made this data public for several months.
As of 3:15 p.m. EST Tuesday, there were 5,104 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. This is a big jump from what the state was reporting two months ago and it’s at mid-August levels, when more than 5,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.
Of Tuesday’s hospitalizations, 932 were in Miami-Dade, 514 in Broward, 283 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 Tuesday, Miami-Dade hospitalizations for COVID-19 complications increased from 960 to 1,012, according to Miami-Dade County’s “New Normal” dashboard. According to Tuesday’s data, 114 people were discharged and 153 people were admitted.
The state has had a total of 58,612 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.
Testing in Florida has seen steady growth since the COVID-19 crisis began.
Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’s 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 Tuesday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 98,164 people tested on Monday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) increased from 8.34% to 9.62%.
