MIAMI — The Florida Department of Health's COVID-19 dashboard reported 4,865 new cases Sunday, the most on a Sunday since early August, as positive test rates trend upwards again.
Throughout the pandemic, less data collection and entry result in Sunday reports having lower case and fatality numbers than the rest of the week. Sunday case numbers have ranged from 1,800 to 2,500 over the last two months. Not counting Oct. 11, when the case report combined Oct. 10 and 11, this is the most reported on a Sunday since the 6,229 cases on Aug. 9.
Over one-third of Florida's reported new cases Sunday came from Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
For the novel coronavirus pandemic, Florida has had 807,412 cases and, after another 28 deaths reported, 16,789 resident deaths and 16,997 total deaths.
No matter how Florida calculates positive test rates, by the state's own numbers, it's increasing again. The daily state and county-by-county breakdown says the average daily positive test rate over the last seven days is 5.57%, up from 5.09% for the previous seven days.
And that rise is steeper among South Florida's counties.
South Florida counties
— Miami-Dade County reported 918 more people who tested positive and 15 more COVID-19 deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 186,809 cases and 3,662 deaths. The county-by-county breakdown says the average daily positive test rate leaped from 4.07% for Oct. 18 to 24, to 5.32% for Oct. 25 through Saturday.
— Broward County reported another 726 cases and three deaths, putting the totals at 86,961 cases and 1,526 deaths. Broward's average daily positive test rate replicated Miami-Dade's, from 4.37% for Oct. 18 through 24 to 5.68% for Oct. 25 through Saturday.
— Palm Beach County reported 332 new cases (52,779 for the pandemic), but zero deaths (1,588). And the average daily positive test rate sailed from 4.18% to, last week, 6.14%.
— Monroe County reported 30 new cases and no deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are 2,334 cases and 25 deaths.
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, 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 9:30 a.m. Sunday, the AHCA said there were 2,311 people currently hospitalized, a shuffle back of eight from 9:30 a.m. Saturday, but 95 up from a week ago. Broward and Monroe each stayed the same, 232 and five, respectively. Miami-Dade added two (285) and Palm Beach dropped 13 (143).
