Coronavirus update – July 7th
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 exactly good but it was a bit better on Monday. After a record weekend of new cases we saw fewer new diagnosed cases nationally and in Florida...though headlines will be made as we’ve now cleared 3 million diagnosed cases in the United States.
In the news independent of statistics, was Dr. Anthony Fauci who confirmed that the recent spike in cases is a continuation of the first wave of COVID-19 rather than a second. He also stated that nationally the average age of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 is about 15 years younger than a couple of months ago. This is directly reflected in Florida where the average age of someone diagnosed with the virus has dropped from 54 entering June, to 39 today. The timeline is also consistent with the rise of protests which also coincided with many reopening efforts.
The continued increases in cases have led to the highest active case count since the pandemic began with over 1.5 million Americans currently fighting the virus, including more than 174,000 Floridians. Simply put, we’re all at the highest risk of contracting the coronavirus right now, then at any prior time during the pandemic.
Here’s where we stand as of now...
Worldwide:
- 11,756,373 – 541,085 deaths – 6,742,819 recovered
Nationally:
- 3,041,035 cases – 132,981 deaths – 1,325,066 recovered
Florida:
- 206,447 cases – 3,778 deaths - 28,404 recovered
In Florida, we had 6,336 new diagnosed cases on Monday, the fewest since last Tuesday. South Florida remains the epicenter of the virus with Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties having the most cases in that order. There are now 92 zip codes in South Florida which are hotspots including 19 in Palm Beach County, 25 in Broward and 48 in Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade has decided to roll back reopening efforts effective tomorrow, as gyms, bars and in person dining will all be closed once again.
The overall positive test rate continues to rise in Florida. After reaching a low of 5.2% in May, the rate since testing began has risen to 9.2% - including testing at greater than 10% positive, the target rate, each day for over two weeks. We’re seeing the spike in cases coming from both an increase in testing and predominantly from increased community spread.
The average age of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 continues to drop and now nearly reflects the demographics of Florida since the onset of testing. The average age of someone diagnosed with the virus in Florida over the prior day was 21 – the youngest for any day since testing began in our state. This likely speaks to younger adults being more reckless and less likely to follow safety protocols.
Florida is 4th in total cases, while the state is 9th in deaths. Florida is the third most populous state, so despite current struggles – we've fared better on balance than most states since the pandemic began. With over 132,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, it is the deadliest virus in the United States since the 1918 pandemic which killed over 675,000 Americans.