The Florida Department of Health (DOH) shows an increase in cases, added 176 deaths of people with COVID-19 on Friday, which brought the deceased count in the state to 12,658. It also recorded another 3,650 positive tests, to raise the total positives to 658,381.
The number of positives announced on Friday is the highest the state has recorded in more than a week and marks the third day in a row that reports higher figures than the previous days.
On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Miami-Dade and Broward would enter the second reopening phase on Monday and the superintendent of Miami-Dade public schools said schools could open this month.
A total of 12,502 Florida residents and 156 non-residents have died of the disease in the state, according to official figures.
Health authorities have explained that not necessarily all deaths occurred in the last 24 hours. In Florida, the announced deaths may be from previous days because the Department reports new deaths when they are reported to them but are not necessarily the same day.
Trends show an increase in cases
Over the past 14 days, on average, the Department of Health has reported nearly 109 fewer cases each day, indicating that new cases typically continue to decline. However, over the last three days an increase in cases is visible, which could indicate that the trend could change soon.
New cases of COVID-19 continue to decrease but inconsistently
Two weeks ago, cases were decreasing by an average of 189 each day, but today an increase in cases is the trend.
As for the deaths, the trend has changed over the past two weeks for the worse, but it could be the cause of few deaths reported during the holiday weekend. Two weeks ago, they were reporting around four fewer deaths a day. But this Friday, over the past 14 days around 1.5 more deaths have been reported each day.
Coronavirus in Florida: The numbers released Saturday show an increase of 3,573 cases and 62 deaths. https://t.co/SCwZ06ZiJ2
— Tracy Solomon (@tracysolomon) September 19, 2020
Announced deaths of Florida residents rise again
On Wednesday, the DOH recorded 200 new deaths, but medical experts from Miami-Dade’s mayoral team, Carlos Giménez, said during a press conference that these deaths were the result of several days of delay. On Thursday, DOH recorded 211 new deaths.
In Miami-Dade the positivity rate has continued to drop. According to the Moving to a New Normal Dashboard, the positivity rate of the last 14 days was 6.09%.
Hospitalizations have also been declining in the county. On Friday, 556 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Miami-Dade hospitals while 2,816 people were hospitalized throughout the state.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe
According to figures released friday, 25% of new cases and 40% of deaths recorded in the last 24 hours are in the following counties:
▪ In Miami-Dade: A total of 163,375 people have tested positive for COVID-19, a rise of 481 contagions compared to Thursday. A total of 2,836 residents have died with the disease.
▪ In Broward: A total of 74,084 people have tested positive, a rise of 215 contagions compared to Thursday. A total of 1,276 residents have died with the disease.
▪ In Palm Beach: A total of 43,724 people have tested positive, a 92-contagion hike from Thursday. A total of 1,193 residents have died with the disease.
▪ In Monroe: A total of 1,778 people have tested positive, 11 more than Thursday. A total of 20 residents have died of the disease.
