Ryan Nicol
South Florida is beginning to see a slowdown in the post-holiday COVID-19 surge. But hospitalizations and deaths in Miami-Dade County have seen significant week-to-week increases.
From Dec. 21-27, the state’s most populous county saw an average of 24 newly-reported hospitalizations per day and 8 newly-reported deaths per day.
The next week, those numbers increased. From Dec. 28-Jan. 3, Miami-Dade had an average of 28 newly-reported hospitalizations per day and 14 newly-reported deaths per day.
During the most most recent week, those metrics spiked even higher. Miami-Dade has seen an average of 44 newly-reported hospitalizations per day and 26 newly-reported deaths per day from Jan. 4-10.
The share of tests coming back positive in Miami-Dade County has dropped week-to-week, indicating a slowdown in the virus’s spread. But deaths and hospitalizations are lagging indicators, meaning those sickened during the holidays may just be seeking hospital care.
Miami-Dade County is experiencing those trends as the state shut down one of the larger testing and vaccination centers Monday, at Hard Rock Stadium, due to Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game.
In the remainder of the tri-county area — Broward and Palm Beach counties — the case positivity rate has held steady week to week but has not yet dropped significantly. Newly-reported deaths are also stable in both counties, but the two regions are showing opposite trends in terms of hospitalizations.
In Broward, hospitalizations have risen week-to-week, while they’ve dropped in Palm Beach County.
Here are some of the weekly numbers for the previous three weeks throughout the South Florida tri-county area:
Miami-Dade
— Dec. 21-27: 24 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 8 newly-reported deaths per day, 1,958 new confirmed cases per day, 8.4% positivity rate
— Dec. 28-Jan. 3: 28 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 14 newly-reported deaths per day, 2,544 new confirmed cases per day, 10.7% positivity rate
— Jan. 4-10: 44 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 26 newly-reported deaths per day, 2,897 new confirmed cases per day, 9.9% positivity rate
Broward
— Dec. 21-27: 20 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 6 newly-reported deaths per day, 747 new confirmed cases per day, 6.7% positivity rate
— Dec. 28-Jan. 3: 20 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 8 newly-reported deaths per day, 1,191 new confirmed cases per day, 9.6% positivity rate
— Jan. 4-10: 28 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 7 newly-reported deaths per day, 1,349 new confirmed cases per day, 9.6% positivity rate
Palm Beach
— Dec. 21-27: 14 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 4 newly-reported deaths per day, 505 new confirmed cases per day, 7.3% positivity rate
— Dec. 28-Jan. 3: 24 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 8 newly-reported deaths per day, 755 new confirmed cases per day, 9.7% positivity rate
— Jan. 4-10: 17 newly-reported hospitalizations per day, 7 newly-reported deaths per day, 876 new confirmed cases per day, 9.9% positivity rate
