Coronavirus update – July 16th
Bottom Line: This daily update is designed to put everything in perspective with straight-forward facts. No hyperbole, no misinformation, no nonsense. As the world continues to struggle with a rise in COVID-19 cases, Wednesday brought about the second highest day of cases yet around the world. It was also the deadliest in a month. Similarly, the US had its highest day for cases and most deaths in a day in over a month.
Here’s where we stand as of now...
Worldwide:
13,706,050 – 587,144 deaths – 8,166,465 recovered
Nationally:
3,617,040 cases – 140,150 deaths – 1,645,966 recovered
Florida:
301,810 cases – 4,521 deaths - 34,219 recovered
In Florida, the news was a continuation of the upward trends. With 10,181 new cases, more than Wednesday a week ago, the moving average continued to rise and currently sits north of 11 thousand daily cases over the past week. There were 112 related deaths yesterday and likewise, the moving average sits at a new high of 90 per day. The averages are important as we’re looking to see if the recent spike in cases has peaked. As of yesterday, that wasn’t the case.
There are 92 zip codes in South Florida which are hotspots including 19 in Palm Beach County, 25 in Broward and 48 in Miami-Dade. Hospitalization rates remain at their highest levels of the pandemic with 78% utilization statewide and 81% in the TriCounty.
The overall positive test rate continues to rise in Florida, though the positive test rate is now called into question after it was revealed that certain medical labs in Florida have only reported the positive results, while omitting negative tests. It’s currently unclear what the extent of the impact is on the state’s current 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% - including testing at greater than 10% positive, the target rate, each day since June 22nd. The average age of someone diagnosed with the virus remains 39. We’re seeing the spike in cases coming from both an increase in testing and predominantly from increased community spread. 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 now 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. In the United States it stands at 8% currently. With over 140,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, it is the deadliest virus in the United States since the 1918 pandemic which killed over 675,000 Americans.