Florida COVID update for Thursday: 6,118 cases, 120 deaths, lower positivity in Miami

Howard Cohen
·3 min read

Florida’s Department of Health on Thursday announced 6,118 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state also announced 126 total new deaths. Of those who died, 120 were residents, pushing the resident death toll to 31,387.

A day after Miami-Dade’s day-to-day positivity rate more than doubled to hit 10.07%, the rate was almost halved in the current report, to 5.68%. More tests were administered Wednesday in the county — 22,971 — compared to the previous day.

The state has now recorded a known total of 1,930,232 coronavirus cases and 31,955 total deaths. Among those who died, 31,387 were residents and 568 were nonresidents.

On Thursday, the state reported the results of 114,481 residents tested on Wednesday. The state’s percent positivity for first-time testers decreased from 6.82% to 5.37%.

In Florida, 1,815,999 have completed the vaccination series and 1,442,998 have received the first dose.

COVID vaccine live updates: What you should know in South Florida on Thursday, March 4

COVID-19 in South Florida

▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,245 new cases and eight deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 416,021 cases and 5,511 deaths. In Miami-Dade, 170,116 people have received the first vaccine dose and 195,154 people have completed the two-dose series. Percent positivity decreased from 10.07% to 5.68%.

▪ Broward County added 771 cases and nine deaths, moving its totals to 197,542 cases and 2,431 deaths. In Broward, 118,000 people have received the first vaccine dose and 161,600 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.62% to 6.14%.

▪ Palm Beach County reported 574 new cases and eight deaths, bringing its cumulative count to 122,226 cases and 2,498 deaths. In Palm Beach, 111,475 people have received the first vaccine dose and 176,422 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.41% to 6.03%.

▪ Monroe County added 26 new cases and no new deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are 5,937 cases and 46 deaths. In Monroe, 5,322 people have received the first vaccine dose and 7,138 have completed the series. Percent positivity increased from 4.46% to 5.62%.

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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 steps in fighting the pandemic.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, the agency said there were 3,582 people hospitalized. Of these, Miami-Dade had 579; Broward, 520; Palm Beach, 261; and Monroe, eight, the agency said.

According to Miami-Dade’s New Normal Dashboard, county hospitals have reported 620 COVID-19 patients, the same number as on Wednesday. There were 62 new patients, and 69 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.