Coronavirus update – May 22nd
Bottom Line: This daily update is designed to put everything in perspective with straight-forward facts. No hyperbole, no misinformation, no nonsense. As of Wednesday, all 50 states were reopening. Thursday didn’t bring the best news however. With just over 28,000 new diagnosed cases, we had our highest day for new cases since May 8th – right at two weeks ago. With incubation periods running up to 14 days, two-week timelines are especially important. This will be closely watched through the weekend in the hope that yesterday was a one off. The highest day for new cases in the US was April 24th with nearly 39,000 cases. Outside of the US Russia and Brazil are still seeing a rapid increase in new cases. Brazil is now 3rd in the world in total cases with Russia having already been second.
Here’s where we stand as of now...
Worldwide:
- 5,210,478 – 334,891 deaths – 2,092,878 recovered
Nationally:
- 1,621,196 cases – 96,359 deaths – 382,244 recovered
Florida:
- 47,471 cases – 2,096 deaths
In Florida, the news wasn’t the best... We had 1,204 new diagnosed cases. Thursday was the highest day for new diagnosed cases since April 17th when just over 1,400 cases were diagnosed. Florida had 49 deaths recorded yesterday. You’ll imagine the bump in new cases will catch the attention of officials across the state – especially heading into Memorial Day weekend. Thursday has consistently been the highest case day reported in Florida as “data dumps” have occurred (a reconciling of previously unreported data) – let’s hope that remains the case. Otherwise the news remains better. We’re the third most populous state but just 9th in total cases and 11th in deaths. Florida’s performing far better than most states on a relative basis. We’ve also tested more aggressively than most states, with only New York having tested more than Florida. More than half of all of Florida’s cases remain in the tri-county area with Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach having the most cases in the state in that order.
The overall positive test rate in Florida dropped to another new low of 6%. That's down from the peak of 11%. As a reminder, the newest diagnosed cases are new cases obtained through community spread. This reinforces the importance of adhering to the warnings of public officials including social distancing and wearing masks in public. The average age of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 in Florida is 53.