FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Florida reported 173 more COVID-19 fatalities on Thursday, which is the most of any day throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The previous high was 156 deaths one week ago. Thursday's total also is an increase over Wednesday's reported 140 fatalities.
Health officials say a total of 5,632 people have died from COVID-19 complications in Florida. This includes 114 people who were not residents.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says he is hopeful the state will soon see encouraging data trends, based on signs of "positive momentum" outside of South Florida.
"I do think we are going to head in a better direction shortly," the governor said, during a news conference at a Melbourne hospital.
The state Department of Health also says infections are on the rise, with 10,249 more cases on Thursday. The state has reported an average of 10,585 cases per day, and 121 deaths per day, over the past seven days.
Florida has one of the worst outbreaks anywhere in the nation. The new infections reported Thursday bring the total cases to 389,868, the third highest in the country behind California and New York, according to COVID Data Tracker from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOUTH FLORIDA
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida's population, reported 4,747 new cases in the past day, or 46.3% of the daily total for the state, according to the state Department of Health.
Broward County: 1,263 new coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, bringing the total to 45,010. A total of 561 people have died, seven more since Wednesday.
Palm Beach County: 761 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 28,267. A total of 742 people have died, 18 more since Wednesday.
Miami-Dade County: 2,723 new cases, bringing the total to 95,068. A total of 1,370 people have died. That's 12 more than Wednesday.
TESTING AND THE POSITIVITY RATE
Florida says it has tested 3.22 million people since the pandemic began, and 12.1% have been positive.
Florida on Thursday reported a 12.3% positivity rate for tests statewide in the previous 24-hour period. The rate was 18.5% for Miami-Dade, 14.1% for Broward, and 11.3% for Palm Beach County. Those are higher figures compared to the previous day.
The daily positivity rate is a closely watched figure, since it's one of the numbers that indicates the prevalence of the disease in the population. In May, Florida's positivity rate was about 5%.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
The number of people being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals dropped slightly Thursday.
The total stood at 9,434 as of 11:31 a.m. Thursday, according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. About 24 hours earlier, the same report listed 9,504 patients.
Miami-Dade County has the most people hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of the new coronavirus: 1,990, a decrease of 11 since Wednesday. Next is Broward with 1,309, down by four since Wednesday. Palm Beach County has 605, which is unchanged.
A different report, from the state health department, shows 22,644 Florida residents have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. That's an increase of 7,819 patients since July 1, when the total was 14,825 hospitalizations.
DEATHS
Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 5,632 on Thursday. That figure includes 114 nonresidents. The three South Florida counties account for 2,673 deaths, which is 47.5% of the state total.
Nationwide: Florida's death rate is in the middle compared with other states. Florida's death rate per 100,000 people was 24.4 as of Wednesday, according to the CDC's data. The death rate is much higher in New York City with 278.9 deaths per 100,000. California has had 19.6 deaths per 100,000, and Texas has had 14.5 deaths per 100,000.
Senior care: At least 2,557 deaths have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a figure that represents 46.3% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents. Miami-Dade County has the highest number of long-term care facility deaths, with 585, or 22.9% of the total. Palm Beach County had 301 deaths, or 11.8%, and Broward accounted for 186 deaths or 7.3%.
COVID-19 is the state's deadliest infectious disease, killing three times more Floridians a day than flu/pneumonia, AIDS and viral hepatitis combined, records show. The most vulnerable to death and hospitalization are people older than 65 or those who have underlying health concerns such as weakened immune systems, diabetes or obesity.
GLOBAL VIEW
U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 143,446 as of 11:35 a.m. EDT Thursday, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has reported almost 4 million cases, the highest total in the world.
Worldwide: The global total reached almost 15.3 million cases Thursday, with at least 624,665 deaths, Johns Hopkins reported.
The U.S. has 4.3% of the world's population and 26.1% of the world's cases.
