Florida COVID numbers are headed in the right direction as reports indicate the lowest number of COVID positive cases and hospitalizations in months. On Wednesday, Florida reported 1,234 new positive cases, which was the lowest 24-hour total since September. Florida also is currently only seeing 1,832 hospitalized patients for COVID.
The number of Floridians hospitalized was the lowest recorded single day number since the metric was initially tracked in July. The average of hospitalizations has declined 19 percent in the last two weeks and approximately 38 percent lower than one month ago.
“Vaccinations are up. New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are down. It’s that simple,” said Mary C. Mayhew, President and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association. “As the rest of the nation joins Florida in reopening, it is important to remember that getting vaccinated offers the best protection against COVID-19, nearly eliminating worries about whether someone else is vaccinated or not.”
However, Florida is not currently tracking how many patients have recovered from COVID, but the data overall shows the numbers are continuing to decline.
There are a total of nearly 8.4 million fully vaccinated Floridians, around 40 percent of the total population, and over 8,000 more received their first dose. However, around 10 million people have had at least one dose, totaling approximately 50 percent of the population.
On Wednesday, Florida conducted over 46,000 COVID tests, and only 3.3 percent of those tests came back positive.
One of the demographics Governor Ron DeSantis has prioritized getting vaccinations to is the elderly and those employed at long term care facilities. Florida is not currently tracking the number of vaccinated elderly or employed long-term healthcare workers but is keeping track of those who are unvaccinated and who have at least one dose of the vaccine.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration reported last week around 93 percent of elderly in long-term care facilities are fully vaccinated, and 44 percent of employees at the assisted living facilities are fully vaccinated.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
