Florida COVID weekly update: Hospitalizations trend upward for the first time in months
What is the COVID-19 situation like in Florida?
In the past seven days, the state has added 3,357 cases and 19 deaths per day, on average, according to Miami Herald calculations of data published by the CDC.
Over the past three weeks, on average, 101 more cases were logged each day in Florida, showing an increase in trends.
As of Tuesday, April 26, more than 14,366,000 people are fully vaccinated in Florida. The state has logged at least 5,911,764 cases and 73,869 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 6,126 new resident cases in the week ending April 14. The county’s resident case total is 1,199,724. Cases added were 38% more than those added in the previous week.
From April 13 to April 19, 72,465 tests were administered, the CDC reported. This may be an undercount due to delayed reporting, the agency said. Testing decreased by 20.16% from the previous week.
▪ Broward reported 2,745 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 609,923. Cases added were 38% more than those added the previous week.
From April 13 to April 19, 31,303 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 1.36% from the previous week.
▪ Palm Beach reported 1,827 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total stands at 373,292. Cases added were 26% more than those added the previous week.
From April 13 to April 19, 18,060 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing increased by 0.51% from the previous week.
▪ Monroe reported 91 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 18,600. Cases added were 20% more than those added the previous week.
From April 13 to April 19, 726 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 17.12% from the previous week.
▪ Manatee reported 285 new resident cases. The county’s resident case total is 96,989. Cases added were 25% more than those added the previous week.
From April 13 to April 19, 2,996 tests were administered, the CDC reported. Testing decreased by 4.74% from the previous week.
South Florida and Manatee County COVID deaths
Florida has added 133 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 344 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 10,895, an increase of 18 deaths from Friday’s report. That’s a rate of 401 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic.
▪ Broward’s death toll is 5,832, an increase of seven. That’s a rate of 299 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Palm Beach’s death toll is 5,041, an increase of 12. That’s a rate of 337 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
▪ Monroe’s death toll is 119, no new deaths were reported. 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 1,425, an increase of one. Manatee has a rate of 353 cumulative deaths per 100,000 people.
Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of people hospitalized with COVID has increased for the first time in about two months. There were 985 people hospitalized in Florida, with 94 in the ICU, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services report on Tuesday.
Over the past three weeks, on average, two more people were hospitalized each day in Florida, showing an increase in hospital trends. However, ICU patients are still continuing to trend downward.
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 14,366,030 eligible Floridians — 66.9% 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 5,757,711 Floridians have received a booster, about 40.1% 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 765,724 people, or 33.2% of the fully vaccinated population, have received a booster.
▪ In Broward, about 544,375 people have received a booster, or 39% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Palm Beach, about 426,895 people have received a booster, or 43% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Monroe, about 22,002 people have received a booster, or 37.8% of the fully vaccinated population.
▪ In Manatee, about 109,995 people have received a booster, or 44.2% of the fully vaccinated population.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Florida COVID weekly update: Hospitalizations trend upward for the first time in months."
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