Florida COVID weekly: State sees increase in new weekly cases after months of steady decline
What is the COVID-19 situation like in Florida?
In the past seven days, the state has added 1,392 cases and 44 deaths per day, on average, according to Miami Herald calculations of data published by the CDC.
Over the past three weeks, on average, 10 fewer new cases were logged each day in Florida, showing a decrease in trends.
As of Tuesday, March 29, more than 14,265,000 people are fully vaccinated in Florida. The state has logged at least 5,846,240 cases and 73,136 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 18-24, Florida has seen 8,735 new cases, according to Miami Herald calculations of the CDC’s Community Profile Report published Tuesday. New cases were 9% more than those added the previous week.
This is the first increase of new weekly cases since early January at the height of the omicron variant surge.
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 1,717 new resident cases in the week ending March 24. The county’s resident case total is 1,181,901. Cases added were 22% more than those added in the previous week.
From March 16 to March 22, 96,534 tests were administered, the CDC reported. This may be an undercount due to delayed reporting, the agency said. Testing increased by 10.26% from the previous week.
▪ Broward reported 954 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 602,537. Cases added were 6% more than those added the previous week.
From March 16 to March 22, 42,978 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing increased by 2.38% from the previous week.
▪ Palm Beach reported 693 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total stands at 368,069. Cases added were 30% more than those added the previous week.
From March 16 to March 22, 20,721 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 19.6% from the previous week.
▪ Monroe reported 30 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 18,387. Cases added were 36% more than those added the previous week.
From March 16 to March 22, 1,101 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing increased by 17.13% from the previous week.
▪ Manatee reported 252 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 96,217. Cases added were 2% fewer than those added the previous week.
From March 16 to March 22, 4,719 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 7.43% from the previous week.
South Florida and Manatee County COVID deaths
Florida has added 427 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 341 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 10,765, an increase of 45 deaths from Friday’s report. That’s a rate of 396 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic.
▪ Broward’s death toll is 5,789, an increase of 28. That’s a rate of 296 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Palm Beach’s death toll is 4,993, an increase of 14. That’s a rate of 334 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Monroe’s death toll is 117, no new deaths added. 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 1,420, an increase of eight. Manatee has a rate of 352 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of people hospitalized with COVID has also been decreasing. There were 1,104 people hospitalized in Florida, with 150 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 14,265,636 eligible Floridians — 66.4% 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 5,587,685 Floridians have received a booster, about 39.2% 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 741,222 people, or 32.4% of the fully vaccinated population, have received a booster.
▪ In Broward, about 527,233 people have received a booster, or 38.1% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Palm Beach, about 409,701 people have received a booster, or 41.6% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Monroe, about 21,076 people have received a booster, or 36.5% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Manatee, about 106,338 people have received a booster, or 43.1% of the fully vaccinated population.
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Florida COVID weekly: State sees increase in new weekly cases after months of steady decline."
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