Florida COVID weekly: Downward trends continue for cases, hospitalizations
What is the COVID-19 situation like in Florida?
In the past seven days, the state has added 1,127 cases and 110 deaths per day, on average, according to Miami Herald calculations of data published by the CDC.
Over the past three weeks, on average, 53 fewer new cases were logged each day in Florida, showing a decrease in trends.
As of Tuesday, March 22, more than 14,240,000 people are fully vaccinated in Florida. The state has logged at least 5,836,493 cases and 72,828 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.
The number of cases is likely an undercount due to positive results from at-home COVID testing. The state also only tracks resident cases and deaths, excluding nonresidents.
Here’s a breakdown of what to know this week:
COVID spread in South Florida
Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe and Manatee counties have a low COVID risk level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This risk level is the lowest of the CDC’s three levels: low, medium and high.
Under this risk level, the CDC no longer offers recommendations for the use of masks. It does advise to maintain improved ventilation while indoors when possible.
For the immunocompromised, the CDC recommends having a plan for rapid testing and for talking to your doctor about treatments such as oral antivirals, PrEP and monoclonal antibodies.
It does note, however, that “at all levels, people can wear a mask based on personal preference, informed by personal level of risk. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.”
South Florida and Manatee County COVID-19 Cases
In the period March 11-17, Florida has seen 8,006 new cases, according to Miami Herald calculations of the CDC’s Community Profile Report published Tuesday. New cases were 22% fewer than those added the previous week.
Here’s a breakdown of how many new COVID cases were reported in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the report.
▪ Miami-Dade reported 1,413 new resident cases in the week ending March 17. The county’s resident case total is 1,181,901. Cases added were 15% fewer than those added in the previous week.
From March 9 to March 15, 85,731 tests were administered, the CDC reported. This may be an undercount due to delayed reporting, the agency said. Testing decreased by 4.43% from the previous week.
▪ Broward reported 896 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 601,583. Cases added were 9% fewer than those added the previous week.
From March 9 to March 15, 41,513 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 3.79% from the previous week.
▪ Palm Beach reported 532 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total stands at 367,376. Cases added were 26% fewer than those added the previous week.
From March 9 to March 15, 25,651 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing increased by 3.72% from the previous week.
▪ Monroe reported 22 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 18,357. Cases added were 61% fewer than those added the previous week.
From March 9 to March 15, 933 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing fell by 8.8% from the previous week.
▪ Manatee reported 257 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 95,965. Cases added were 38% more than those added the previous week.
From March 9 to March 15, 5,083 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 0.51% from the previous week.
South Florida and Manatee County COVID deaths
Florida has added 740 deaths in the past week, according to Herald calculations of the CDC’s Tuesday Community Profile Report.
It is unclear when these newly reported deaths occurred. The Community Profile Report updates Florida’s county tolls and rates about once every seven days.
As of Tuesday’s Community Profile Report, Florida had a rate of 339 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people since the start of the pandemic.
Here’s where death rates and tolls stand in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the CDC:
▪ Miami-Dade’s death toll is 10,720, an increase of 77 deaths from Friday’s report. That’s a rate of 395 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic.
▪ Broward’s death toll is 5,761, an increase of 51. That’s a rate of 295 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Palm Beach’s death toll is 4,979, an increase of 32. That’s a rate of 333 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Monroe’s death toll is 117, an increase of two new deaths. The county would be at a death rate of 158 deaths per 100,000 people if its population were that large.
▪ Manatee’s death toll is 1,412, an increase of 18. Manatee has a rate of 350 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of people hospitalized with COVID has also been decreasing. There were 1,355 people hospitalized in Florida, with 196 in the ICU, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services report on Tuesday.
Although newly reported cases during the omicron surge surpassed those reported during the delta surge, hospitalizations have not.
At delta’s August peak, more than 15,000 patients were hospitalized in Florida, according to HHS data.
Miami-Dade County no longer collects and reports COVID hospitalizations data in its “COVID-19 Daily Dashboard.”
Florida COVID-19 vaccinations
About 14,245,008 eligible Floridians — 66.3% 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, according to the CDC.
About 5,443,076 Floridians have received a booster, about 38.4% of the state’s fully vaccinated population.
Here’s how many people have received a booster in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the CDC:
▪ In Miami-Dade, about 734,937 people, or 32.2% of the fully vaccinated population, have received a booster.
▪ In Broward, about 523,613 people have received a booster, or 37.9% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Palm Beach, about 407,529 people have received a booster, or 41.4% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Monroe, about 20,970 people have received a booster, or 36.3% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Manatee, about 105,829 people have received a booster, or 42.9% of the fully vaccinated population.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Florida COVID weekly: Downward trends continue for cases, hospitalizations."
%20Cropped%20(2).jpg)