MIAMI — Florida’s Department of Health on Monday morning confirmed 610 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 32,138. There were 14 new deaths announced since Sunday morning, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,088.
Of the statewide total of confirmed cases, 31,290 are Florida residents and 848 are nonresidents who were diagnosed or isolated in the state.
Health experts told the Miami Herald earlier this month they were concerned the number of pending COVID-19 tests listed by the state is an undercount because Florida reports only the number of Floridians waiting to get test results from state labs, not private ones — and private labs are completing more than 90% of state tests.
Previously, the results of pending tests from private labs have taken as long as two weeks to be added to the state’s official count, making it difficult for officials to project the size and scale of the pandemic in the state. It’s unclear how quickly results are currently being sent to the state from private labs.
Health officials say the state has also had 5,010 hospitalizations relating to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The statewide and county-level data for COVID-19 hospitalizations include anyone who was hospitalized during their illness and “does not reflect the number of people currently hospitalized,” according to the Department of Health.
The state says it does not “have a figure” to reflect current hospitalization data.
The fear that hospitals would be overwhelmed by patients with COVID-19 appears to have subsided, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. On Sunday, DeSantis signaled during a news conference that the ban on elective procedures at hospitals and outpatient clinics would be ending soon.
The decision comes several days after the governor announced that Florida’s coronavirus curve had flattened and asked the Re-Open Florida Task Force — mostly made up of corporate CEOs and state and local lawmakers — to give him a list of recommendations on what safety measures reopened businesses would need to follow.
Hospital representatives told the task force Thursday they wanted to begin offering elective surgeries again, likely with additional COVID-19 safety precautions in place, and had prepared letters to DeSantis last week urging him to end the restrictions on elective procedures.
In South Florida, Broward Health said last week that it plans to resume scheduling patients for priority medical and surgical procedures immediately once the restrictions are lifted.
As of Monday morning, here’s what Florida’s Department of Health data shows:
— Miami-Dade County saw 219 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the county total to 11,570. Those who have fallen ill range from the age of 0 to 105. (Those listed as age zero are less than 1). Health officials say 11,439 are residents, 130 are nonresidents and one is a resident who is not in Florida. The county has had 1,298 hospitalizations and 302 deaths.
— Broward County reported 65 additional confirmed cases of the disease, raising the county total to 4,794. Those who have fallen ill range from the age of 0 to 102. Health officials say 4,670 are residents and 124 are nonresidents. The county has had 174 deaths and 908 hospitalizations.
— Palm Beach County had 66 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the county total to 2,763. Those who have fallen ill range from the age of 0 to 104. Health officials say 2,703 are residents, 58 are nonresidents and two are residents who are not in Florida. The county has had 409 hospitalizations and 156 deaths, the highest death toll in Florida.
— Monroe County reported one additional confirmed case of the disease, bringing the county total to 79. Those who have fallen ill range from the age of 6 to 80. Health officials say eight are nonresidents. The Florida Keys has had three deaths and 11 hospitalizations.
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(Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau chief Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report.)
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