MIAMI _ The gross number of confirmed COVID-19 cases moved past 36,000 as of Sunday's Department of Health update while the percentage of known positive test results inched downward statewide and in individual South Florida counties.
Also, South Florida accounted for less than half of the state's increase in new novel coronavirus cases and deaths.
Of Florida's 615 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, putting the state at 36,078, 248 (40.3%) came from Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. The 15 newly reported deaths around the state, raising the state death toll to 1,379, include six (40%) from South Florida.
As for number of people tested, the state reported 12,208 new tests have been administered and 1,881 people are now awaiting test results. But that results-pending number includes only state labs. As reported earlier in the month by the Miami Herald, it doesn't include the private labs doing an overwhelming majority of the testing.
The state's official numbers also conflicts with work from by a University of Miami group that extrapolated from a study of 1,400 people that about 165,000 Miami-Dade residents or 6% of the population, have antibodies indicating a past novel coronavirus infection. About 3.4% of Miami-Dade's population has been tested for COVID-19.
The breakdown by county:
_ Miami-Dade had 143 new cases and two deaths, leaving it at 12,775 and 369 respectively, both state highs. The number of people hospitalized at some point by COVID-19 is 1,664, an increase of 13 from Saturday. The positive test rate is 13.7, down from 13.8 at Saturday's update.
_ Broward added 55 cases, which now total 5,312; and three deaths, which now total 207; and 12 hospitalizations, which now total 1056. Like Miami-Dade, the county's positive test rate edged down 0.1 of a percent, to 10.2% from 10.3%.
_ In Palm Beach, 50 new cases raised that total to 3,130 and one death pushed that total to 196. Another three hospitalizations were reported for a total of 474. The positive test rate moved a breath, from 10.32% to 10.27%.
_ Monroe County saw no changes in cases (80), hospitalizations (11) or deaths (3) and it's positive test rate dropped from 5.9% to 5.7%.
