Florida COVID update: Record-breaking 23,903 new cases, more people than ever in hospital
Florida has broken another record for COVID cases in a 24-hour period, another grim benchmark of the highly contagious delta variant.
On Saturday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 23,903 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. The day before was another record-breaker: 22,783 new novel coronavirus cases.
Saturday’s data amounts to the highest single-day case count in Florida since the pandemic began last year as the state continues record-breaking hospitalizations for the sixth straight day in a row.
On Saturday, the state recorded 13,747 hospitalizations related to COVID, with 2,750 patients in intensive care units statewide.
Florida, which makes up about 6.5% of the U.S. population, accounted for 19.1% of the country’s new cases on Friday, based on data the state is reporting to the CDC. The state’s seven-day average of new cases was 19,250, as of Friday, up from a seven-day average of 2,476 on July 6, a 677.5% increase, stemming from the highly contagious delta variant.
On Saturday, the state also reported 93 new deaths, a day after reporting 199.
From July 30 to Aug. 5, Florida reported 134,506 cases, and 175 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health’s weekly report released on Fridays. There were 24,086 more cases this week than last week, a 21% jump, and the percent positivity increased to 18.9% from 18.4% last week, the report said. High positivity rates indicate community spread.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida
There were 13,747 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, breaking the state’s hospitalization record for the sixth day in a row, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services as of 1 p.m. Saturday. A total of 253 out of 260 hospitals reported.
About 2,753 people were in intensive care, representing 43.27% of the state’s ICU hospital beds from 253 hospitals reporting. That percentage has been climbing with more hospitalizations.
In Miami-Dade County, COVID hospitalizations are not at 2020 summer levels yet, but are inching closer. Miami-Dade hospitals actually reported a reduction in Friday’s COVID patients to 1,414, down 14.5% from Thursday, and COVID patients in the ICU to 262, a 12.1% drop.
There were 223 new COVID patients again Friday, 201 of whom (90.1%) weren’t vaccinated, according to the Miami-Dade dashboard.
On Friday, there were 22 children in Nicklaus Children’s Hospital near South Miami being treated for COVID. Of the 22, seven children were in the Intensive Care Unit. There was one child on a ventilator, Miami-Dade data shows.
January was the worst month of the Florida pandemic, with daily case counts routinely topping 10,000. That followed a surge in July 2020, when daily case counts and hospitalizations also topped 10,000. Hospitalizations were higher in July 2020 over January because there was no vaccine yet. The latter half of July 2021 and early August is Florida’s third COVID-19 surge.
Cumulatively, Florida has recorded at least 2,725,450 confirmed COVID cases statewide and 39,695 deaths, according to the CDC.
COVID-19 vaccine rates in Florida
As of the Saturday report, 10,630,690 eligible Floridians have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine. About 49.5% of Florida’s total population is fully vaccinated, according to federal data.
Florida switched from daily to weekly COVID reports in early June. The Miami Herald can no longer include new deaths because the state stopped classifying deaths by county in its report.
Here are the county numbers based on Florida’s Saturday report:
COVID-19 CASES AND VACCINES IN SOUTH FLORIDA
▪ Miami-Dade County reported 19,639 new resident cases in the week ending Aug. 5, according to the Florida health department.
In Miami-Dade County, about 1,689,860 people, or 62.2% of the county’s total population, are fully vaccinated according to the CDC.
▪ Broward County reported 12,590 new resident cases in the week ending Aug. 5, according to the Florida health department.
In Broward County, about 1,021,804 people are fully vaccinated, or 52.3% of the county’s total population.
▪ Palm Beach County reported 7,787 new resident cases in the week ending Aug. 5, according to the Florida health department.
In Palm Beach County, about 763,524 people are fully vaccinated, or 51.0% of the county’s total population.
▪ Monroe County reported 388 new resident cases in the week ending Aug. 5, according to the Florida health department.
In Monroe County, about 44,343 people are fully vaccinated, or 59.7% of the county’s total population.
▪ Manatee County reported 1,985 new resident cases in the week ending Aug. 5, according to the Florida health department.
In Manatee County, about 188,999 people are fully vaccinated, or 46.9% of the county’s total population.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Florida COVID update: Record-breaking 23,903 new cases, more people than ever in hospital."
