Florida COVID weekly update: State sees most new cases in a month
What is the COVID-19 situation like in Florida?
In the past seven days, the state has added 3,021 cases and 21 deaths per day, on average, according to Miami Herald calculations of data published by the CDC.
Over the past three weeks, on average, 71 more cases were logged each day in Florida, showing an increase in trends.
As of Tuesday, April 19, more than 14,342,000 people are fully vaccinated in Florida. The state has logged at least 5,888,264 cases and 73,738 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 April 8-14, Florida has seen 15,589 new cases, according to Miami Herald calculations of the CDC’s Community Profile Report published Tuesday.
New cases were 38% more than those added the previous week. This is the highest increase in new weekly cases the state has seen in over a month.
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 4,452 new resident cases in the week ending April 14. The county’s resident case total is 1,193,598. Cases added were 48% more than those added in the previous week.
From April 6 to April 12, 89,439 tests were administered, the CDC reported. This may be an undercount due to delayed reporting, the agency said. Testing increased by 29.49% from the previous week.
▪ Broward reported 1,986 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 607,178. Cases added were 45% more than those added the previous week.
From April 6 to April 12, 30,374 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing increased by 3.77% from the previous week.
▪ Palm Beach reported 1,448 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total stands at 371,465. Cases added were 29% more than those added the previous week.
From April 6 to April 12, 17,316 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 1.03% from the previous week.
▪ Monroe reported 76 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 18,509. Cases added were 230% more than those added the previous week.
From April 6 to April 12, 788 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing increased by 15.2% from the previous week.
▪ Manatee reported 171 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 96,476. Cases added were 94% more than those added the previous week.
From April 6 to April 12, 3,123 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing increased by 2.09% from the previous week.
South Florida and Manatee County COVID deaths
Florida has added 260 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 343 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 10,877, an increase of 22 deaths from Friday’s report. That’s a rate of 400 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic.
▪ Broward’s death toll is 5,825, an increase of eight. That’s a rate of 298 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Palm Beach’s death toll is 5,029, an increase of 13. That’s a rate of 336 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Monroe’s death toll is 119, an increase of one new death. The county would be at a death rate of 160 deaths per 100,000 people if its population were that large.
▪ Manatee’s death toll is 1,424, an increase of three. Manatee has a rate of 353 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of people hospitalized with COVID has been decreasing. There were 1,040 people hospitalized in Florida, with 107 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 14,342,962 eligible Floridians — 66.8% 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 5,719,711 Floridians have received a booster, about 39.9% 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 760,258 people, or 33% of the fully vaccinated population, have received a booster.
▪ In Broward, about 540,750 people have received a booster, or 38.8% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Palm Beach, about 423,347 people have received a booster, or 42.7% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Monroe, about 21,831 people have received a booster, or 37.6% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Manatee, about 109,256 people have received a booster, or 44% of the fully vaccinated population.
This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Florida COVID weekly update: State sees most new cases in a month."
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