Nearly 5.4K new COVID-19 cases in South Florida as winter spike continues

South Florida’s tri-county area recorded another 5,384 COVID-19 cases Wednesday. That’s the fourth time in seven days the region has eclipsed 5,000 new cases.

As Florida Politics has reported, the post-holiday surge isn’t simply a function of more people getting tested following their Christmas or New Year’s gatherings. While raw cases have gone up, so too has the region’s positivity rate. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have all seen a week-to-week increase in the positivity rate, ranging from 1.2 points in Miami-Dade to 2 full points in Broward.

That’s a sign the virus is spreading far more quickly after the recent holiday period. Hospitalizations are up week-to-week in Miami-Dade, but are steady in Palm Beach and down in Broward.

But hospitalizations and deaths are lagging indicators, meaning the surge seen in cases today will not result in an equivalent surge in hospitalizations until days or weeks down the line.

Wednesday’s statewide report saw the second-highest daily raw case total in the state since the pandemic began. The newest report puts South Florida at more than 547,000 cases overall. That means absent a stark drop in new cases, the tri-county area will cross the 550,000-case mark on Thursday.

South Florida recorded 10 new deaths in Wednesday’s report, putting the region’s overall total at 8,073.

Here are some of the weekly numbers for the previous three weeks throughout the South Florida tri-county area:

Miami-Dade

— Dec. 16-22: 33 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 11 newly-reported deaths per day, 2,276 new confirmed cases per day, 8.5% positivity rate

— Dec. 23-29: 25 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 10 newly-reported deaths per day, 2,109 new confirmed cases per day, 9.3% positivity rate

— Dec. 30-Jan. 5: 28 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 13 newly-reported deaths per day, 2,685 new confirmed cases per day, 10.5% positivity rate

Broward

— Dec. 16-22: 24 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 6 newly-reported deaths per day, 992 new confirmed cases per day, 6.9% positivity rate

— Dec. 23-29: 23 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 6 newly-reported deaths per day, 858 new confirmed cases per day, 7.8% positivity rate

— Dec. 30-Jan. 5: 17 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 7 newly-reported deaths per day, 1,209 new confirmed cases per day, 9.8% positivity rate

Palm Beach

— Dec. 16-22: 17 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 7 newly-reported deaths per day, 576 new confirmed cases per day, 7.2% positivity rate

— Dec. 23-29: 19 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 6 newly-reported deaths per day, 518 new confirmed cases per day, 8% positivity rate

— Dec. 30-Jan. 5: 19 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 6 newly-reported deaths per day, 805 new confirmed cases per day, 9.8% positivity rate