Coronavirus update – July 22nd
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 great around the world on Tuesday with a seven-day trend new cases and deaths rising again - as has consistently been the case since May 14th. It was a different version of a similar thing in the US, though there’s a definite slowdown in new cases in the states which hopefully will become part of an improving trend soon. Overnight there were two milestone numbers crossed which will doubtlessly make headlines once news media catches up to the information. 15 million total diagnosed cases worldwide and 4 million in the United States.
The closed case death rate for those diagnosed with the virus remains at 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, which is the lowest yet, and appears likely to continue to fall. 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:
- 15,101,115 – 619,647 deaths – 9,118,471 recovered
Nationally:
- 4,028,733 cases – 144,958 deaths – 1,886,778 recovered
Florida:
- 369,834 cases – 5,207 deaths - 39,217 recovered
In Florida, Tuesday was better than the headlines may have suggested. It was the first day under 10,000 new cases in a week, but importantly, this came after a three-day decline in the weekly average for new cases. As of now, Friday marked the seven-day peak of the pandemic in Florida if we can continue with improving cases counts. Fingers crossed. The 132 related deaths tied the second highest day of the pandemic, however this was expected given last week’s peak in cases.
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 11.9% - 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 recent increase in average age demonstrates spread from younger adults to older adults most recently. This 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. With over 144,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, it is the deadliest virus in the United States since the 1918 pandemic which killed over 675,000 Americans.