Florida COVID caseload increases, but by how much is unclear
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Florida’s official COVID-19 caseload count remains unclear while hospitalizations have hit a one-year low, new state data showed Friday.
More than 36,000 new cases or fewer than 4,500?
Florida’s infection tally increased by 36,758 since April 14, the state Health Department’s biweekly COVID report released Friday shows.
But it’s just 4,446 more than March 31 because state health officials inexplicably removed more than 32,000 cases between March 31 and April 14.
The state Health Department reported a total of 7,569,449 cases March 31, 7,537,137 on April 14, and 7,573,895 on Friday.
The state Health Department said April 7 it had paused sending data to the CDC to upgrade its case-reporting systems to match the CDC’s expanded definition of a COVID case. The definition was changed in late February. It now includes test results from over-the-counter kits and tests performed on the dead.
Before Florida stopped sending statistics to the CDC, the federal agency would report new infection and death numbers from the state weekly. Since then, the state Health Department’s biweekly COVID report has become the only source for those updates.
State health officials have yet to explain why it removed cases between March 31 and April 14.
Hospitalizations still declining
748 hospital patients Friday, the fewest since April 25, 2022. Far fewer than the nearly 3,000 in early January. (Source: U.S. Health and Human Services Department).
Viral loads rising in a few counties
Wastewater, which reveals coronavirus trends sooner than official case counts, shows viral levels rising in Monroe County.
Test results from Wednesday found 1,208 coronavirus particles per milliliter of sewage in the state's southernmost county, which contains the Florida Keys, according to Boston-based private laboratory Biobot Analytics. That's almost six times more than April 12.
Sewage readings from Alachua, Hillsborough, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Pinellas counties continue to show viral loads well below their winter peaks.
Should you mask up indoors?
The CDC can’t issue indoor masking recommendations in Florida due to lack of data from the state.
Florida vaccination rates still among nation's worst
30.5% — Floridians 65 and older who have gotten the latest booster*
42.6% — Seniors boosted nationwide**
11.5% — Floridians up to date on shots
16.8% — Americans up to date
More than 7.5 million infected in Florida, which is more than 1 in 3 residents.
*Those 65 and older comprise the vast majority of COVID deaths.
**Only seniors in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee have less protection than those in Florida.
Chris Persaud is The Palm Beach Post's data reporter. Email him at cpersaud[at]pbpost.com. Click @ChrisMPersaud and follow him on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida COVID caseload increases more than 36,000 or less than 4,500
