COVID-19 update: Florida’s December surge in new cases is now the most severe of the pandemic

South Florida Sun Sentinel - 12/27/2021

Florida reported 39,032 new COVID-19 cases from the weekend, pushing the 7-day average higher than its previous peak during the summer delta surge, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

After record-setting days ahead of Christmas, the cases reported for Saturday and Sunday were markedly lower: 21,077 on Saturday and and 17,955 on Sunday.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have been climbing, but at a significantly lower rate than they did during the summer delta surge, relative to the increase in cases. As of Sunday, 1,896 adults were hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus cases, the highest since the end of October.

Meanwhile, testing positivity rates climbed to well over 20% in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, which have the highest levels of any other county in Florida. Palm Beach County’s positivity rate is 19.2%, the CDC data shows. Public health experts say the virus is considered under control when the COVID-19 test positivity rate is under 5%.

In December, Florida has climbed in the per-capita rankings for new cases over the past seven days from near last to 11th as of Monday. The state has averaged 83 cases per 100,000 residents per day over the past week. For deaths, Florida’s day average over the past week ranks last with 0.1 deaths per 100,000.

CDC shows that, as of Dec. 26, 42 of Florida’s 67 counties — including all three in South Florida — are considered at “high” risk of community transmission.

As of Monday, at least 3,936,170 Floridians have been infected by COVID-19. With no new deaths reported by Florida on Monday, the total death count remained at least 62,389

Meanwhile, vaccinations in Florida are averaging 86,439 doses per day in Florida, largely because of a surge in booster shots, CDC data shows. As of Friday, 63% of Floridians are now fully vaccinated and 28% of those who are vaccinated have received booster shots.

Here are the key statistics in Florida to watch: