MIAMI — Although the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases is dropping, Miami-Dade County has now surpassed 1 million confirmed cases, reaching an undesirable milestone as the omicron variant continues to spread across Florida.
The numbers were confirmed in the Florida Department of Health’s weekly report, released Friday as the state approached 5 million cases.
Miami-Dade is the only county in the state to reach this milestone. Only one other county in the U.S. has passed 1 million cases: Los Angeles County in California, which sits at 2,040,078 cases as of Thursday’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Community Profile Report. Maricopa County, Arizona, and Cook County, Illinois, are also approaching the 1 million mark.
While not a county, The New York Times reports New York City sits at 2,038,543 cases.
Florida reported 59,061 COVID-19 cases and three new deaths Thursday, according to Friday’s report to the CDC, based on Miami Herald calculations of CDC data.
In the past seven days, the state has added 66 deaths and 61,345 cases per day on average, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data. In all, Florida has recorded at least 4,992,579 confirmed COVID cases and 63,084 deaths.
Miami-Dade reported 110,441 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 13, according to Herald calculations of the state’s weekly report. The county’s resident case total stands at 1,051,508. This is the first time the county’s toll was reported to be more than 1 million cases.
New infections fell by 15.5%, after rising by 13% the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6). This is the county’s first decrease in newly reported weekly cases since mid-November.
Miami-Dade not only holds the number one spot for cases in the state, it also leads all Florida counties in terms of vaccination, as well.
About 2,210,790 people, or 81.4% of the county’s total population, are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. About 2,696,782, or 95% of the county’s total population, have received at least one dose.
No other Florida county has seen vaccination rates that high.
Here’s a breakdown of how many new COVID-19 cases were reported this past week in South Florida and Manatee County. The Florida Department of Health includes county resident case totals in its weekly coronavirus report, which is released on Friday.
—Broward County: The county reported 48,103 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 13, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. The county’s resident case total stands at 538,332.
New infections fell by 4.3%, after rising by 3% the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6). This is the county’s first decrease in newly reported weekly cases since mid-November.
—Palm Beach County: The county reported 26,866 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 13, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. The county’s resident case total stands at 297,389.
New infections fell by 7.8%, after rising by 18% the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6). This is the county’s first decrease in newly reported weekly cases since mid-November.
—Monroe County: The county reported 1,646 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 13, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. The county’s resident case total stands at 15,739.
New infections fell by 5.1%, after rising by 82% the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6). This is the county’s first decrease in newly reported weekly cases since mid-November.
—Manatee County: The reported 5,416 new resident cases in the week ending Jan. 13, according to Herald calculations of the weekly report. The county’s resident case total stands at 79,682.
New infections rose by 18.7%, a slower rate than the week before (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6), when infections rose by 60%.
About 13,754,878 eligible Floridians — 64% of the state’s population — have completed the two-dose series of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Here’s how many people have been fully vaccinated in South Florida and Manatee County, per the CDC:
—In Broward County, about 1,337,882 people are fully vaccinated, or 68.5% of the county’s population.
—In Palm Beach County, about 957,234 people are fully vaccinated, or 64% of the county’s population.
—In Monroe County,about 55,888 people are fully vaccinated, or 75.3% of the county’s population.
—In Manatee County, about 240,039 people are fully vaccinated, or 59.5% of the county’s population.
There are 11,552 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Friday report. This data are reported from 259 Florida hospitals. The number of people hospitalized across the state is 38 fewer than the day before, when 256 hospitals reported.
COVID-19 patients take up 19.81% of all inpatient beds in the latest report, compared to 19.98% among Thursday’s reporting hospitals.
Omicron, so far, is not as deadly as delta’s surge last summer. Hospitalizations are approaching records set during delta’s wave from July through September.
At delta’s August peak, more than 15,000 patients were hospitalized in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Of the people hospitalized in Florida, 1,443 were in intensive-care units, a decrease of 32 from Thursday. That represents about 22.55% of the state’s ICU beds, compared to 23.10% the previous day.
Miami-Dade County’s COVID-19 Daily Dashboard did not include hospitalization figures.
Broward County’s Friday report said there were 1,401 COVID patients in the county’s hospitals, a decrease of four compared to the day before.
