Florida just added a record 4,049 new coronavirus cases in a single day, state data released Saturday show — continuing a blistering pace of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state.
The previous daily mark was 3,822 cases set the previous day. Florida has set records for cases on seven out of the past 10 days, illustrating that the virus is spreading faster than at any time during the pandemic.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the “vast majority” of people with new infections are younger adults who don’t have any symptoms of the disease, based on results pouring in from an expanded pool of people getting swabbed.
“It’s really important to know who is testing positive, and we’ve definitely seen a big change here in the last couple of weeks,” he said during a news conference in Tallahassee.
The governor pointed out that the average age of Broward County residents who recently tested positive for COVID-19 is 32 — people unlikely to wind up on ventilators in intensive care units.
Still, the unprecedented surge in cases prompted a call for “doubling down” on warnings to younger people to practice social distancing and wear facial coverings if closer than six feet to someone else. At the same time, the state will start strict enforcement of capacity rules in restaurants and other businesses.
“When those very reasonable guidelines are disobeyed, well, it ends up defeating some of the purpose of what we’re trying to accomplish,” DeSantis said.
In South Florida, the hardest-hit area in the state:
Broward County: 389 new cases were reported Saturday, bringing the total to 10,837 to date. Three more people died, putting the known death toll at 392.
Palm Beach County: 390 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 10,506. Four more people died, making 481 total.
Miami-Dade County: Florida’s hot spot saw 704 new cases, bringing the total to 25,080. The county also had 10 more deaths, raising the total to 889. Miami-Dade has 13% of the state’s population but 26.7% of the coronavirus cases and 27.5% of the deaths.
Testing results and trends
The state Department of Health on Saturday reported a total of 1,562,280 people tested for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. About 6% of the tests have been positive; 1,005 tests came back inconclusive.
The rate is higher in South Florida, where 8.5% of people tested have been diagnosed with the disease, according to the data.
Overall, 93,797 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus illness in Florida. South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population, accounts for 49.5% of the cases, with 46,423 total.
The dramatic rise in statewide cases began in early June, with a relentless climb over the past 10 days. Public health experts say there’s also been a negative trend with the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests each day across Florida, among all ages.
In the latest results, 14.3% of the people swabbed tested positive. That’s based on 28,404 tests since the previous day. It’s a clear sign the virus is more widespread.
For comparison, look back four weeks ago when just 3.2% of the test results showed infections on May 23. That was based on the results of 20,940 tests that day.
“That’s evidence that there’s transmission within those (younger aged) communities, particularly the 20s and 30s,” DeSantis explained Saturday. “But in terms of spread, and in terms of some of the vulnerable (older) populations eventually seeping in there, certainly a cause for concern. But our cases are shifting in a radical direction younger.”
The most recent data concerning coronavirus infections among children show 39,070 children have been swabbed, and 12.3% of them, or 4,809 tested positive. That’s a one week increase of 1,402 cases.
The report released Friday also says 131 children have been treated in hospitals, a one-week increase of 28; none have died from COVID-19 illness.
Deaths
Statewide: At least 3,237 people have died from the new coronavirus in Florida, 40 more than on Friday, the state reported.
Residents: The death total includes 3,144 residents and 93 from outside the state.
Senior care: At least 1,653 of the state’s COVID-19 deaths (51.1%) have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities; that’s an increase of 113 over the past week. And, 11,719 cases have occurred among residents and staff.
Hospitalizations
Statewide: A total of 12,939 people have been treated in Florida hospitals for COVID-19 since the start of pandemic-related record-keeping, an increase of 165 since Friday. The number of available hospital beds has been declining in recent weeks, records show.
DeSantis says 25 percent of beds remain available, twice as much as early March, so there is no cause for concern.
South Florida: Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties have had 7,037 people hospitalized, 73 more than the previous 24 hours.
Global view
U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 119,131 on Saturday, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. has 2.2 million coronavirus cases, the most of any country in the world. At least 43,917 people have died in the national hot spots of New York and New Jersey.
Worldwide: Johns Hopkins also reported almost 8.7 million cases worldwide, with at least 460,594 people dead.
The United States has 4.3% of the world’s population and 25.6% of the world’s cases.
Marc Freeman can be reached at mjfreeman@sunsentinel.com and on Twitter @marcjfreeman.
