Florida COVID update on Saturday: Miami-Dade tops 400,000 cases as state adds 7,280

Howard Cohen
·3 min read

Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday reported 7,280 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus — which helped move Miami-Dade over the 400,000 mark. The state also reported another 125 COVID-19 deaths.

Of the new deaths announced, 121 were residents — the fewest since last Sunday. Florida has now recorded a known total of 1,863,707 cases and 30,339 total deaths. Of those deaths, 29,813 are residents and 526 are non-residents.

On Saturday, the state reported the results of 124,466 residents tested on Friday. The state’s percent positivity for first-time testers decreased from 5.85% to 5.74%.

In Florida, 1,314,176 people got their first dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID vaccine and 1,353,925 got the second dose to complete the series. This means 2,668,101 have been vaccinated.

COVID-19 in South Florida

▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,544 new cases and 10 deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 401,137 cases and 5,280 deaths. In Miami-Dade, 110,519 people have received the first vaccine dose and 153,021 people have completed the two-dose series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.15% to 5.84%.

▪ Broward County added 909 cases and 14 deaths, moving its totals to 189,125 cases and 2,324 deaths. In Broward, 94,248 people have received the first vaccine dose and 131,842 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.31% to 6.22%.

▪ Palm Beach County reported 546 new cases and no new deaths, bringing its cumulative count to 117,231 cases and holding at 2,394 deaths. In Palm Beach, 121,789 people have received the first vaccine dose and 123,760 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.11% to 5.67%.

▪ Monroe County added 18 new cases and no new deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are 5,675 cases and 44 deaths. In Monroe, 5,184 people have received the first vaccine dose and 5,464 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 5.12% to 3.34%.

Florida COVID-19 hospitalizations

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.

Government officials use current hospitalizations to decide the next action in dealing with the pandemic.

As of 3:45 p.m. Saturday, the agency said there were 4,213 people hospitalized. Of these, Miami-Dade had 682; Broward, 565; Palm Beach, 309; and Monroe, four, the agency said.

According to Miami-Dade’s New Normal Dashboard, county hospitals have reported 749 COVID-19 patients, down from 765 on Friday. There were 73 new patients and 105 were discharged.

State hospitalization data doesn’t always match Miami-Dade’s New Normal Dashboard data for various reasons, including the frequency of daily updates.