COVID surge in Florida: Cases rise 332.9% in one week, state among fastest-spreading in US

Mike Stucka
·4 min read
Seen through a protective glass door, Dustin Evans, a critical care nurse, attends to a COVID patient in the I.C.U. unit on the 4th floor of Holmes Regional Medical Center.

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New coronavirus cases leaped in Florida in the week ending Sunday, rising 332.9% as 124,865 cases were reported. The previous week had 28,841 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Florida makes Top 10 list where virus is spreading the fastest

Florida ranked ninth among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 47% from the week before, with 1,388,833 cases reported. With 6.45% of the country's population, Florida had 8.99% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 26 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Christmas significantly disrupted who got tested, how many people got tested, what labs operated and what government agencies reported on time. Some cases and deaths that would have been reported last week might be reported in the coming week, which itself will have testing and reporting disrupted by New Year's. Consequently week-to-week comparisons will be skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

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COVID case surge in Florida counties

Brevard County reported 1,214 cases in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 298 cases. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 84,393 cases.

Within Florida, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis included:

• Miami-Dade County with 1,930 COVID cases per 100,000 per week

• Broward County with 1,205

• Palm Beach County with 789

The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall:

• Miami-Dade County, with 52,435 cases

• Broward County, with 23,532 cases

• Palm Beach County, with 11,812

Weekly case counts rose in 63 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

What is COVID vaccination rate for Florida?

Florida ranked 19th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 74% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 72.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Thursday, Florida reported administering another 605,070 vaccine doses, including 137,227 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 827,240 vaccine doses, including 170,549 first doses. In all, Florida reported it has administered 33,172,989 total doses.

These Florida counties had a decline in COVID cases

Across Florida, cases fell in four counties, with the best declines in Liberty County, with 4 cases from 10 a week earlier; in Franklin County, with 3 cases from 8; and in Gilchrist County, with 8 cases from 11.

How many in Florida tested positive, how many died from coronavirus?

In Florida, 127 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 194 people were reported dead.

Florida does not directly publish county-level death data.

A total of 3,907,748 people in Florida have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 62,347 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 52,280,854 people have tested positive and 816,609 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Florida's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Dec. 26.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 4,979

  • The week before that: 3,039

  • Four weeks ago: 2,177

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 99,084

  • The week before that: 90,677

  • Four weeks ago: 76,315

Hospitals in 18 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 28 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: COVID Florida surge: 124,865 cases reported Christmas week.