Florida sees highest daily case total, pushing state coronavirus infections past 60,000
Source: Miami Herald
Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday morning confirmed 1,419 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s total to 60,183 confirmed cases.
Thursday’s daily total of newly confirmed cases is the most the state has seen since Florida’s Department of Health began providing daily updates on the novel coronavirus in March.
Previously, the highest daily total recorded since the pandemic began was April 17, when 1,413 cases were added, six fewer than Thursday’s daily total.
Thursday’s daily total is second time this week that the state has reported more than 1,000 cases. On Wednesday, the state confirmed 1,317 additional cases, which was the state’s biggest daily gain in six weeks.
The state Department of Health also announced 41 new deaths Thursday, raising the statewide toll to 2,607.
HOW MANY CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES ARE IN SOUTH FLORIDA?
Less than half of the new cases but more than half of the new deaths were in South Florida:
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 323 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 new deaths. The county’s confirmed total is now at 18,779 cases with 746 deaths, the highest in the state.
▪ Broward County reported 123 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and seven new deaths. The county’s confirmed total is now at 7,462 with 325 deaths.
▪ Palm Beach County saw 211 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths. The county’s known total is now at 6,688 with 363 deaths.
▪ Monroe County confirmed one additional case of COVID-19 and no deaths. The Florida Keys now have 110 known cases and four deaths.
Here’s a breakdown on what you need to know:
CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN FLORIDA
More than half of the state’s known COVID-19 cases are in South Florida’s four counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe. Miami-Dade continues to lead the state with the most confirmed cases and deaths. It has 18,779 known cases and 746 deaths.
Despite the daily reports of new cases and deaths, local and state officials have previously said that decreases in the daily total of reported cases are signs that social-distancing measures are working.
Officials are also relying on hospitalization data. Unlike testing, which might be limited or take days to report results, hospitalizations can help give officials a real-time visual of how many people are severely ill with COVID-19.
The health department says it doesn’t “have a figure” to reflect the number of people currently hospitalized and only provides the total number of hospitalizations in its statewide and county-level data.
On Thursday morning, 127 hospitalizations were added, raising the statewide total count to 10,652.
Scientists are also still working to learn more about the virus, including how many people in the community are infected with the disease and have mild or no symptoms, which can make it difficult to determine what percentage of the cases hospitalizations represent.
COVID-19 TESTING IN FLORIDA
Testing in Florida has seen steady growth since the COVID-19 crisis began and has started to see a steady decline in the percentage of people testing positive.
Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’ progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders and loosen restrictions.
The recommended numbers of daily tests needed vary by experts, but the dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine told the governor Florida needs to test about 33,000 people every day. The state has hit or surpassed the recommended mark a few times but is typically several thousand under.
Florida’s Department of Health reported 31,154 new tests in Wednesday’s daily COVID-19 update. In total, the state has done 1,081,825 tests. Of the total tested, 58,764 or 5.43 percent have tested positive for the disease. The state says there are 1,191 pending tests. Thursday’s testing data was not immediately available.
Health experts have previously told the Miami Herald that they were concerned the number of pending COVID-19 tests listed by the state is an undercount because Florida reports only the number of Floridians waiting to get test results from state labs, not private ones — and private labs are completing more than 90% of state tests.
Previously, it has taken as long as two weeks for the results of pending tests from private labs to be added into the state’s official count, making it difficult for officials to project the size and scale of the pandemic in the state. It’s unclear how quickly results are currently being sent to the state from private labs.
How We Can Help
If you, a friend or a family member find themselves in a situation such as this, please call the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A. at 305 670-3330 right away. Scott A. Ferris, Esq. is a licensed attorney who has been practicing law for 33 years. He is available whenever you need him to defend your rights. Please learn about our firm at www.FerrisLawFirm.com.
Republished by the Law Office of Scott A. Ferris, P.A.