Florida COVID update for Tuesday: 5,610 cases and more than 150 deaths

Michelle Marchante, Devoun Cetoute
·3 min read
Long lines were spotted at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. The popular COVID-19 testing site also began offering vaccines to seniors 65 and older and front-line healthcare workers. It’s the first state-run testing site in Miami-Dade County to offer vaccines.

Florida’s Department of Health on Tuesday announced 5,610 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state also announced 154 new deaths, 148 of whom were residents.

The state has now recorded a known total of 1,878,533 cases and 30,749 total deaths. Of those deaths, 30,213 are residents and 536 are non-residents.

On Tuesday, the state reported the results of 102,203 residents tested on Monday. The state’s percent positivity for first-time testers decreased from 6.80% to 6.50%.

More than 1.4 million Floridians have completed the two-dose vaccination series of either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, and more than 1.3 million have received the first dose.

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COVID-19 in South Florida

▪ Miami-Dade County reported 1,240 new cases and 24 deaths, putting its pandemic totals at 404,499 cases and 5,338 deaths. In Miami-Dade, 115,908 people have received the first vaccine dose and 161,471 people have completed the two-dose series. Percent positivity decreased from 7.19% to 6.01%.

▪ Broward County added 701 cases and three deaths, moving its totals to 191,065 cases and 2,352 deaths. In Broward, 96,700 people have received the first vaccine dose and 136,869 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 7.33% to 7.28%.

▪ Palm Beach County reported 309 new cases and two deaths, bringing its cumulative count to 118,151 cases and 2,414 deaths. In Palm Beach, 115,747 people have received the first vaccine dose and 136,666 have completed the series. Percent positivity decreased from 6.69% to 6.48%.

▪ Monroe County added 23 new cases and two new deaths. Pandemic totals in the Keys are 5,721 cases and 46 deaths. In Monroe, 5,062 people have received the first vaccine dose and 5,761 have completed the series. Percent positivity increased from 4.55% to 6.29%.

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 3:16 p.m. Tuesday, the agency said there were 4,198 people hospitalized. Of these, Miami-Dade had 706; Broward, 580; Palm Beach, 315; and Monroe, 3, the agency said.

According to Miami-Dade’s New Normal Dashboard, county hospitals have reported 780 COVID-19 patients, down from 782 on Monday. There were 63 new patients and 94 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.