Broward County has surpassed 100,000 COVID-19 cases, as Florida added more than 8,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases Saturday – the state’s virus-related death toll also rose by over 40.
The 8,409 new COVID-19 cases brought Florida’s total to 931,827, according to the daily report from the state’s department of health.
With 41 more virus-related deaths among Florida residents, the total rose to 17,930 Saturday. Another 222 non-resident deaths have been confirmed in the state to-date, one more than in Friday’s report. Most of the newly confirmed deaths occurred days or weeks earlier.
In South Florida, Miami-Dade County had 213,197 cases Saturday, an increase of 1,940 since Friday, along with 3,753 COVID-related deaths, seven more than in Friday’s report.
In Broward County, there were 100,288 COVID-19 cases reported, a daily increase of 968, along with 1,618 virus-related deaths, three more than in Friday’s report.
Palm Beach County had 61,305 cases and 1,648 virus-related deaths Saturday, while Monroe County had 3,093 cases and 26 deaths.
A weekly briefing from the White House Coronavirus Task Force on November 15, said that “Florida is in the midst of a viral resurgence and with aggressive action now, can contain this surge.”
It said Florida is in the red zone for cases, with the 37th highest rate in the country, and yellow for test positivity, with the 36th highest rate in the country, while both test positivity and new cases increased.
“We’ve had a 40% increase in the positivity rates just over the past two weeks and it’s beginning to climb throughout the state,” said Dr. Jay Wolfson, an associate dean at USF’s Morsani College of Medicine. “Of course with the highest rates being down in South Florida but every county in this state is affected in a way that is not positive for the health of those communities.”
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the report also states that more than 80% of Florida counties have moderate or high levels of community transmission.
While no statewide restrictions have been announced, leaders in the South Florida states have been imploring residents to continue to wear a mask and social distance.
