Florida COVID weekly update: Miami-Dade, Broward see an increase in cases
What is the COVID situation like in Florida?
Cases, deaths and hospitalizations are going down statewide.
As of Thursday, Feb. 23, an average of 2,554 cases per day were added in the past seven days, a 5% decrease from the average of two weeks ago, according to Miami Herald calculations of data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
READ MORE: COVID shots now on CDC list of routine vaccines for kids, adults. What does that mean?
The number of cases is likely an undercount because the data doesn’t include positive results from at-home COVID testing. The state tracks only resident cases and deaths, excluding nonresident information.
Here’s a breakdown of what to know this week:
What’s the COVID risk in South Florida?
Palm Beach County fell to a low risk level of virus transmission in the last week, joining Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Manatee counties.
The CDC no longer recommends wearing masks at this level.
COVID hospitalization levels in Florida?
COVID hospitalizations have decreased in the state.
Of the 44,890 inpatient beds being used in Florida, 1,756, or about 4% of the beds, are being used for COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as of Thursday.
Of the 5,076 ICU beds in use, 256, or about 5%, are being used for COVID-19.
Florida COVID deaths
A total of 86,294 Florida residents have died from COVID since the pandemic began. There were 282 deaths recorded in the state in the CDC’s latest report.
It is unclear when these newly reported deaths occurred. The Community Profile Report updates Florida’s county death tolls about once every seven days.
What’s the dominant COVID variant?
From Feb. 19 to Feb. 25, the XBB.1.5 strain was the most dominant strain in the United States, including in the Southeast region, which includes Florida.
Florida COVID vaccination levels
About 14,915,281 eligible Floridians — 69.4% of the state’s population — have completed the two-dose series of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, according to the CDC.
South Florida and Manatee County cases
From Feb. 16 to Feb 23, Florida recorded 17,858 new cases, according to Miami Herald calculations of the CDC’s Community Profile Report published Friday.
Here’s a breakdown of the new COVID cases in South Florida and Manatee County, according to the report.
▪ Miami-Dade reported 3,109 new resident cases in the week ending Feb. 23, reaching a cumulative total of 1,538,402 since March 2020, when the pandemic began. New cases were 14.34% more than those added in the previous week.
▪ Broward reported 1,630 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 769,484. New cases were 13.04% more than those added in the previous week.
▪ Palm Beach reported 1,192 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 477,750. New cases were 3.56% fewer than those added in the previous week.
▪ Monroe reported 41 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 22,773. New cases were 10.87% fewer than those added in the previous week.
▪ Manatee reported 335 new resident cases, reaching a cumulative total of 122,725. New cases were 13.95% more than those added in the previous week.
