Ryan Nicol
Broward and Palm Beach counties have sat below a 5% positivity rate over the previous seven-day span. That’s according to COVID-19 data released by the Department of Health (DOH).
Palm Beach is faring the best, with a 4.6% overall positivity rate over the past week. That number is 4.9% for Broward and 7.6% for Miami-Dade.
The numbers are a good sign for the region, which had rates hovering around 20% as recently as mid-July.
With a lower portion of tests coming back positive, officials are feeling confident they can begin to slowly reopen parts of the region. For example, Miami-Dade has now begun allowing diners to eat inside restaurants.
Officials must also account for the upcoming flu season, as an uptick in cases could be problematic when combined with the flu’s spread.
Monday’s DOH report showed just 622 new COVID-19 cases across the tri-county area. That report covers new data from Sunday morning through Monday morning, though numbers are typically lower following the weekend.
The region recorded another 37 COVID-19 deaths Monday, with Miami-Dade adding 34 deaths. Just two people died in Palm Beach while one person passed away in Broward.
Here are some of the weekly numbers for the previous three weeks throughout the South Florida tri-county area:
Miami-Dade
— Aug. 10-16: 63 new hospitalizations per day, 30 deaths per day, 1,779 new confirmed cases per day, 13.3% positivity rate
— Aug. 17-23: 35 new hospitalizations per day, 25 deaths per day, 936 new confirmed cases per day, 9.2% positivity rate
— Aug. 24-30: 33 new hospitalizations per day, 26 deaths per day, 626 new confirmed cases per day, 7.6% positivity rate
Broward
— Aug. 10-16: 93 new hospitalizations per day, 27 deaths per day, 582 new confirmed cases per day, 8.3% positivity rate
— Aug. 17-23: 74 new hospitalizations per day, 17 deaths per day, 375 new confirmed cases per day, 5.9% positivity rate
— Aug. 24-30: 31 new hospitalizations per day, 7 deaths per day, 260 new confirmed cases per day, 4.9% positivity rate
Palm Beach
— Aug. 10-16: 27 new hospitalizations per day, 8 deaths per day, 281 new confirmed cases per day, 6.9% positivity rate
— Aug. 17-23: 15 new hospitalizations per day, 10 deaths per day, 208 new confirmed cases per day, 4.9% positivity rate
— Aug. 24-30: 27 new hospitalizations per day, 8 deaths per day, 183 new confirmed cases per day, 4.6% positivity rate
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Editor’s note on methodology: The Florida Department of Health releases new data every morning around 10:45 a.m. The total number reported in those daily reports include the previous day’s totals as well as the most up to date data as of about 9:30 a.m.
Florida Politics uses the report-over-report increase to document the number of new cases each day because it represents the most up-to-date data available. Some of the more specific data, including positivity rates and demographics, considers a different data set that includes only cases reported the previous day.
This is important to note because the DOH report lists different daily totals than our methodology to show day-over-day trends. Their numbers do not include non-residents who tested positive in the state and they only include single-day data, therefore some data in the DOH report may appear lower than what we report.
Our methodology was established based on careful consideration among our editorial staff to capture both the most recent and accurate trends.
