Florida's COVID-19 death toll tops 8,300 as infections rise by 6,229, but cases are trending lower

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida reported 77 COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, along with about 6,200 new coronavirus infections and 254 new hospitalizations.

The pandemic is still quite active in the state. A total of 8,315 people have died from disease complications and 532,806 people have been diagnosed with infections, while 30,505 state residents have been hospitalized.

Sunday marked a decline in both deaths and infections after three consecutive days of increases in both COVID-19 cases and fatalities, though both reported numbers tend to dip on weekends. The current totals are not close to the record highs set last month. The peak was 257 deaths on July 31.

The daily totals are not reflective of deaths in the past 24 hours, but rather recent weeks. And the test results reported on a single day typically reflect tests taken over several days. Often, test results take weeks to be processed.

The state Department of Health reported 6,229 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, after three days above 7,000 cases. The state reports processing some 85,000 tests Saturday. Those results are reflected in the Sunday report.

The percentage of positive tests dipped lower today to about 8.5% among people who tested positive for the first time across the state, for the previous day.

Public health experts say the positivity rate is an important figure, since it indicates the prevalence of the disease in the population. The World Health Organization had advised governments that before reopening, the rate should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.

South Florida

South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida’s population, reported 2,317 new cases in the past day, or about 37.2% of the daily total for the state.

Broward County: 654 new coronavirus cases were reported Saturday, bringing the total to 62,268. A total of 803 people have died, 14 more than reported Saturday.

Palm Beach County: 420 new cases, bringing the total to 37,020. A total of 931 people have died, 2 more than reported the previous day.

Miami-Dade County: 1,243 new cases, bringing the total to 132,461. A total of 1,865 people have died. That’s 27 more than reported Saturday.

Testing and positivity rate

A total of 3.96 million people have been tested in Florida since the pandemic began, producing a positivity rate of 13.3%. The state reports that 3.43 million people have tested negative. At the end of May, Florida’s positivity rate was about 5.6%.

In South Florida the overall positivity on Saturday rate was 10.7 %. For Broward, it was 8.7%. For Palm Beach, it was 7.1%. For Miami-Dade, it was 12.1%.

Hospitalizations

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 decreased statewide and in South Florida on Saturday. There were 6,867 patients at 11:45 a.m., according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. About 24 hours earlier, the same report listed 6,878 patients.

The number of people in hospitals for COVID-19 has been declining. The total hospitalized for the disease two weeks ago was 9,206.

Miami-Dade County has the most people hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of the new coronavirus: 1,512 patients. Next is Broward with 909, Palm Beach County has 428.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 30,505 residents have been hospitalized, according to the state health department.

Deaths

Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 8,315 on Sunday. That figure includes 129 people who were not residents. The three South Florida counties account for 3,599 deaths, or 43.2% of the state total.

COVID-19 is the state’s deadliest infectious disease. Throughout 2019, there were 2,703 deaths attributed to the flu and pneumonia in Florida, records show.

Global view

U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 162,455 as of 12:05 p.m. Saturday, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has reported almost 5 million cases, the highest total in the world.

Worldwide: The global total reached 19.6 million cases Saturday, with at least 727,000 deaths, Johns Hopkins reported.

The U.S. has 4.3% of the world’s population, but 25.5% of the world’s cases and 22.4% of the world’s deaths.

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