Coronavirus update – July 21st
Bottom Line: This daily update is designed to put everything in perspective with straight-forward facts. No hyperbole, no misinformation, no nonsense. The news wasn’t especially good outside of the United States on Monday with a seven-day trend new cases and deaths rising again. This includes the highest average daily new case count. The news was better in the US and specifically Florida. For the first day since June 9th, the seven-day moving average of new cases declined in the United States. The news was even better in Florida where we had our third consecutive day of a decline in the trendline of new cases. Many news outlets are choosing to focus on headline numbers that don’t detect recent improvements in cases but increasingly, especially in Florida, there’s room for optimism that we may be turning the corner in the recent spike in cases.
Another bit of improved new comes in the form of the closed case death rate for those diagnosed with the virus. It dropped to 6% worldwide - which is the lowest since March 11th and equals the lowest rate during the pandemic. The rate currently sits at 7% in the US. The increase in testing combined with improved treatment options for those critically ill, is clearly making a positive difference.
Here’s where we stand as of now...
Worldwide:
- 14,866,353 – 613,542 deaths – 8,923,956 recovered
Nationally:
- 3,961,556 cases – 143,835 deaths – 1,850,224 recovered
Florida:
- 360,394 cases – 5,075 deaths - 38,440 recovered
In Florida, as I referenced, the news was better than the headlines might have suggested on Monday. Yes, we crossed the 5,000-death total and yes, we crossed 10,000 new cases for the sixth consecutive day. Otherwise though – the news was better. The total was below the seven-day moving average for the third consecutive day. The daily average of deaths did tick higher with a pandemic high of 114 daily days over the past week, however this data trails the new diagnosed cases – so it’s not unexpected.
South Florida remains the epicenter of the pandemic in Florida. There are 143 zip codes in South Florida which are hotspots including 27 in Palm Beach County, 46 in Broward and 70 in Miami-Dade. Hospitalization rates remain at their highest levels of the pandemic.
The overall positive test rate continues to rise in Florida, though the positive test rate remains questionable after it was revealed that certain medical labs in Florida only reported the positive results starting around July 4th. It’s currently unclear what the extent of the impact is on the state’s overall numbers and if those labs have since reported all negative cases as well. After reaching a low of 5.2% in early June, the rate since testing began has risen to 11.8% - including testing at greater than 10% positive, the target rate, each day since June 22nd. The average age of someone diagnosed with the virus rose to 40 over the weekend. While more Floridians have been diagnosed between the ages of 25-34 than any other ten-year window, the increase in average age demonstrates spread from younger adults to older adults. The reinforces the importance of using proper safety measures like wearing masks in public and socially distancing.
Florida is 3rd in total cases, while the state is 8th in deaths. Florida is the third most populous state. Since the onset of the pandemic we've fared in-line with overall cases, while better than average with outcomes. For closed cases around the world, the death rate has been 7% since the onset of the pandemic. With over 143,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, it is the deadliest virus in the United States since the 1918 pandemic which killed over 675,000 Americans.