FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Florida reported some encouraging news on the COVID-19 front Thursday, with the lowest percentage of positive tests in more than six weeks.
The state Department of Health reported 7,650 new cases of the disease in its latest coronavirus pandemic report. That pushes the overall total to 510,329 confirmed infections.
But officials reported a testing positivity rate of 8.3% among people who tested positive for the first time in the most recent statewide results. That's the lowest daily mark since June 21, when it was 7.7%.
It happened as Florida counted 104,144 test results for the previous day, after three consecutive days of fewer than 61,000 tests. That was due to the temporary closure of testing sites because of Tropical Storm Isaias.
The test results reported on a single day typically reflect tests taken over several days.
Also Thursday, Florida reported another 120 coronavirus fatalities. That's down from 225 deaths lists on Wednesday's report. At least 7,871 people have died from COVID-19 complications since the start of the pandemic.
The latest daily total is not reflective of deaths in the past 24 hours, but rather recent weeks. The most deaths on a daily report _ 257 last Friday.
Monitoring Florida's COVID-19 cases: These are the numbers to watch. �
SOUTH FLORIDA
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida's population, reported 2,886 new cases in the past day, or 37.7% of the daily total for the state.
Broward County: 704 new coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, bringing the total to 60,058. A total of 803 people have died; the death subtracted the report of one resident death from the previous day.
Palm Beach County: 454 new cases, bringing the total to 35,737. A total of 907 people have died, 10 more than reported on Wednesday.
Miami-Dade County: 1,728 new cases, bringing the total to 127,677. A total of 1,800 people have died. That's nine more than reported Wednesday.
TESTING AND POSITIVITY RATE
A total of 3.86 million people have been swabbed in Florida since the pandemic began, producing a positivity rate of 13.2%. The state reports that almost 3.35 million people have tested negative. At the end of May, Florida's positivity rate was about 5.6%.
Florida on Thursday reported a 8.3% positivity rate for tests statewide in the previous 24-hour period. That's down from 10.9% on Wednesday, and a big improvement compared to the first week of July when the state had a 15% positivity rate on most days.
Public health experts say the positivity rate is an important figure, since it indicates the prevalence of the disease in the state's population. The World Health Organization has advised governments that before reopening, the rate should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
Citing concerns about private labs not reporting negative test results, Gov. Ron DeSantis on this week said a clearer indication about the spread of the disease is tracking visits to hospital emergency departments by people with COVID-19 symptoms. Those visits peaked at 15,900 as of the week of July 5, with visits down to 6,937 for the week of July 26.
In South Florida the positivity rates in the previous day were 8.4% for Broward, down from Wednesday's 8.9%; 12.8% for Miami-Dade, down from 15.5%; and 7.7% for Palm Beach County, which is down from 9.9%.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 decreased statewide Thursday. There were 7,443 patients at 11:46 a.m., according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. About 24 hours earlier, the same report listed 7,621 patients.
The number of people in hospitals for COVID-19 has been declining. The total hospitalized for the disease two weeks ago was nearly 9,500.
Miami-Dade County has the most people hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of the new coronavirus: 1,617 patients, a decrease of 47 since Wednesday. Next is Broward with 1,040, a decrease of 32. Palm Beach County has 454, a decrease of 19.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 29,131 have been hospitalized, according to the state health department. That's an increase of 14,306 patients since July 1, when the total stood at 14,825.
Health experts say people older than 65 are most vulnerable to hospitalization and death, along with people who have underlying health issues, including weakened immune systems, diabetes or obesity.
DEATHS
Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 7,871 on Thursday. That figure includes 124 people who were not residents. The three South Florida counties account for 3,510 deaths, or 44.6% of the state total.
Seniors: At least 3,301 deaths have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a figure that represents 42.6% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents.
Miami-Dade County has the highest number of long-term care facility deaths, with 622, or 18.8% of the total. Palm Beach County had 363 deaths, or 11%, and Broward accounted for 227 deaths, or 6.9%.
