An additional 2,610 people have been infected by the coronavirus in Florida, the latest in a dramatic rise of cases since the state began to reopen, according to data released Wednesday.
The total announced Wednesday was the second-highest in a single day since the pandemic began, eclipsed only by the record 2,783 set the day before.
In South Florida, the hardest-hit area in the state:
Broward County: 314 new cases were reported Wednesday, bringing the total to 9,812 to date. Two more people died, putting the known death toll at 382.
Palm Beach County: 210 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 9,472. Six more people died, making 457 total.
Miami-Dade County: Florida’s hot spot saw 532 new cases, bringing the total to 23,273. The county also had three more deaths, raising the county’s total to 865. Miami-Dade has 13% of the state’s population but 28.1% of the coronavirus cases and 27.8% of the deaths.
Health officials have reported at least 2,000 new cases statewide on four out of the past five days. Possibly more troubling: The percentage of positive tests is on the rise as well.
In the latest batch of statewide results, 10.3% of the people swabbed tested positive. A month ago, the positivity rate was 3.5%, records show. Testing increased slightly: 22,286 tests reported May 17 compared with 25,462 in the latest results.
Overall, 82,719 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus illness in Florida. South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population accounts, for 51.4% of the cases, with 42,557 total.
Testing
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday the surge in cases is nothing to worry about and won’t prompt the state to rethink its reopening plans. Shutdowns certainly will not resume, he said.
DeSantis said cases are rising as a result of more COVID-19 testing. People of any age, regardless of whether they have symptoms, can be tested, a change from the early days of the pandemic when testing was restricted. DeSantis pointed out that testing has been rolled out to people who work on farms, in factories and in office buildings.
“There’s people that have no symptoms at all that get tested by the thousands every day,” he said. “As you test more, you will see more cases.”
The state on Wednesday reported a total of 1,486,759 people tested since the pandemic began. About 5.6% of the tests have been positive; 1,000 tests came back inconclusive. The rate is higher in South Florida, where 8.1% of people tested have been diagnosed with the disease, according to the data.
Deaths
Statewide: At least 3,110 people have died from the new coronavirus in Florida, 25 more than on Tuesday, the state reported.
Residents: The death total includes 3,018 residents and 92 from outside the state.
Senior care: Fifty-one percent of Florida’s COVID-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Some 11,197 cases have occurred among residents and staff.
Hospitalizations
Statewide: A total of 12,389 people have been treated in Florida hospitals for COVID-19 since the beginning of pandemic-related record-keeping, an increase of 183 since Tuesday The number of hospital beds available has been declining in recent weeks,
South Florida: Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties have had 6,762 people hospitalized, 106 more than the previous 24 hours.
Global view
U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 117,033 on Wednesday, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. has over 2.1 million coronavirus cases, the most of any country in the world. At least 43,701 people have died in the national hot spots of New York and New Jersey.
Worldwide: Johns Hopkins also reported over 8.2 million cases worldwide, with at least 444,853 people dead.
The United States has 4.3% of the world’s population and 26% of the world’s cases.
Marc Freeman can be reached at mjfreeman@sunsentinel.com and on Twitter @marcjfreeman.
