Florida On Cusp Of 1 Million Positive Coronavirus Cases
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FLORIDA — With 992,000 positive cases of coronavirus reported in Florida Sunday, health officials expect the state to cross the sobering one million mark Monday.
It's a threshold two other states — California and Texas — have already passed since the pandemic began. California has reported 1.18 million total cases and Texas 1.15 million cases.
With Florida's positivity rate currently at 8.38 percent, the new number of positive cases means that about one in every 21 residents in Florida has now tested positive for the coronavirus. While the majority of residents recover (97 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the increasing number of hospitalizations and fatal cases is causing alarm in the health community.
The rising number of cases have resulted in another run on toilet paper at Florida stores, many of which have resumed the purchase limitations they set at the beginning of the pandemic in March.
Despite pleas from parents and teachers to shut down brick-and-mortar schools until the coronavirus rates stabilize, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference Monday that he will keep schools open. He said school closures have had no measurable impact on coronavirus rates in other states.
“Going forward, whatever the future may hold, school closures should be off the table," DeSantis said. "They don’t do anything to mitigate COVID, but they do cause catastrophic damage to the physical, mental and social well-being of our youth. Let’s not repeat any mistakes of the past.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield agrees.
“The truth is, for kids K through 12, one of the safest places they can be from our perspective is to remain in school," Redfield said on Nov. 20. “Today, there's extensive data that we've gathered over the last two to three months to confirm that K-12 schools can operate with face-to-face learning, and they can do it safely and they can do it responsibly."
DeSantis said school districts can continue to offer parents the option to enroll their children in online classes.
Florida has seen cases rise again, now totaling more than 990,000 confirmed cases since the pandemic began earlier this year. More than 18,700 people have died with COVID-19 since March.
As of Sunday, 18,736 people have died from the coronavirus in Florida, the majority of which are over the age of 65 or have other health conditions that make them susceptible to the virus. That's an average of 87 coronavirus deaths each day.
Florida's Positivity Rate For November
New Cases By Day
Coronavirus Deaths In Florida
Courtesy DOH
The Department of Health reported that 54,864 people have been hospitalized in Florida since the pandemic began. As of Sunday, 4,059 people were hospitalized in Florida, up 116 since Saturday.
Miami-Dade County tops the list of most hospitalizations. Currently, Miami-Dade County hospitals are treating 767 patients, 203 of which are in intensive care units.
Highest Hospitalizations By County
Miami-Dade 767 patients, 203 in ICU
Broward 330 patients, 125 in ICU
Duval 322 patients, 115 in ICU
Hillsborough 315 patients, 105 in ICU
Pinellas 277 patients, 52 in ICU
Palm Beach 276 patients, 128 in ICU
Alachua 250 patients, 58 in ICU
Orange 241, 159 patients, in ICU
Volusia 166 patients in ICU
Brevard 135 patients, 33 in ICU
Pasco 134 patients, 15 in ICU
Polk 132 patients, 48 in ICU
Escambia 118 patients, 23 in ICU
Lee 106 patients, 29 in ICU
Some of the more sparsely populated counties with a limited number of hospital beds for coronavirus patients have either run out of beds or on the verge of running out including Hendry County, which is at 100 percent occupancy, Walton County at 78.26 percent capacity and DeSoto County at 75 percent capacity.
Likewise, in some of Florida's most populous counties, hospitals are quickly reaching their capacity for coronavirus patients.
In Hillsborough County, Southbay Hospital has run out of ICU beds. AdventHealth Tampa has just seven beds available and Tampa General Hospital has just 15 of its 80 ICU beds open.
In Miami-Dade County, Jackson Memorial Hospital is caring for 193 patients with just 15 beds open. Larkin Community Hospital, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Hialeah Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital have no ICU beds available.
The story is similar in Pinellas County where Morton Plant Hospital has run out of beds, Bayfront Health St. Petersburg has three beds out of 42 remaining and St. Anthony's Hospital has six out of 32 beds open.
To see how many ICU beds your nearest hospital has available, click here.
The median age of those who have tested positive in Florida is 40 years old. More women than men have been infected (514,072 to 479,368) and the overwhelming majority are white (495,375).
Courtesy DOH
To look up the number of cases in your town or county, click here.
Related stories:
Tampa Hospital Offers 1st Coronavirus Antibody Treatment In FL
About 1 In 23 Floridians Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus
This article originally appeared on the Tampa Patch
