Coronavirus in Florida – March 30th update
Bottom Line: Florida’s cases nearly doubled over the weekend, as we had just under 2,500 new cases. As of this entry there are 4,950 total in-state cases. Deaths more than doubled as 34 additional deaths brought the total to 60 statewide. Still, Florida ranks just 6th nationally in total cases, despite having the 3rd largest population – indicating that we’re faring better than most states on a relative basis.
Florida’s Surgeon General, Scott Rivkees issued a public health advisory to Florida’s seniors – those 65 and older - to stay-at-home. Governor DeSantis announced checkpoints will be opened on I-10 and I-95 to screen vehicles traveling into Florida from Connecticut, Louisiana, New York and New Jersey. The range in age for positive tests in our state ranges from 2 to 96. More than half of all of Florida’s cases currently are in the tri-county area with Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach having the most cases in the state in that order. Here’s the count in South Florida right now...
- Broward: 1,012
- Miami-Dade: 1,472
- Palm Beach: 383
We continue to see a high rate of positive test results in Florida. To date nearly 10% of all tests for COVID-19 have come back positive. That’s up from last week – perhaps indicating that community spread has been occurring. Florida’s positive test rate remains much higher than the guidance provided by the Coronavirus Task Force of 1%-4% worldwide.
The further we get into testing and this process, it’s unlikely we’re just documenting people who already had it and are just being documented. The highest concentration of cases is coming from those between the ages of 45-54. Followed by those who are 55-64.