Florida adds 9,816 COVID cases, second lowest reported this year, and 160-plus deaths

Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed 9,816 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,589,097. Also, 162 resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident death toll to 24,436.

One new non-resident death was also announced, bringing the non-resident toll to 384. The total death count for the state is 24,820, the fourth-highest in the country after New York, California and Texas, according to the New York Times database of U.S. cases.

Tuesday’s single-day count is the second day in a row that the state reported fewer than 10,000 cases in one day this year.

According to the state’s Tuesday COVID-19 vaccine report, 1,066,107 people have been vaccinated in Florida — with 100,351 of those people having completed the series of two doses.

Of those who completed the two-dose vaccination, 16,033 were Miami-Dade residents, 13,425 were Broward residents and 260 were Monroe residents.

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Confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Florida

Miami-Dade County reported 1,875 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five new deaths, according to Florida’s Department of Health. The county now has 347,965 confirmed cases and 4,622 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 9.03% to 8.40%, from Sunday to Monday.

Broward County reported 844 additional confirmed cases of the disease and seven new deaths. The county has a known total of 160,514 cases and 1,990 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases decreased from 9.04% to 8.12%, from Sunday to Monday.

Palm Beach County saw 625 additional confirmed cases and 22 new deaths. The county now has 98,692 confirmed cases and 2,059 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 8.68% to 9.47%, from Sunday to Monday.

Monroe County confirmed 33 additional cases and no new deaths. The county has a known total of 4,993 cases and 37 deaths. Percent positivity for new cases increased from 5.03% to 9.87%, from Sunday to Monday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida

One of the tools that officials rely on to determine whether the coronavirus situation is improving in the state is hospitalization data. Unlike testing, which might be limited or takes days to report results, hospitalizations can help give officials a real-time snapshot of how many people are severely ill with COVID-19.

The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reports the number of patients hospitalized statewide with a “primary diagnosis of COVID.” The data, which is updated at least every hour, does not distinguish between the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital intensive care units and those in acute-care beds, which require less attention from nurses.

As of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, there were 7,363 COVID-19 patients admitted into hospitals throughout the state, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dashboard. This is at mid-August levels, when more than 7,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals throughout the state.

Of Tuesday’s hospitalizations, 1,092 were in Miami-Dade, 612 in Broward, 441 in Palm Beach and five in Monroe, according to the agency.

The state has had a total of 68,478 Florida residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related complications, according to Florida’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard.

COVID-19 Testing in Florida

Testing in Florida has seen steady growth since the COVID-19 crisis began.

Testing, like hospitalizations, helps officials determine the virus’ progress and plays a role in deciding whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders and loosen restrictions.

Epidemiologists use the testing data to create a positivity rate. The rate helps them determine if a rise in cases is because of an increase in testing or whether there’s increased transmission of the virus in the community.

On Tuesday, Florida’s Department of Health reported the results of 129,880 people tested on Monday. The positivity rate of new cases (people who tested positive for the first time) decreased from 9.17% to 8.97%.

This article will be updated.