This daily update is designed to put everything into perspective with straight-forward facts. Tuesday was a day focused on the battle in Washington over relief for individuals and businesses due to the virus. In the wee hours this morning, a deal on $2 trillion in spending was reached which includes direct payouts to individuals and families along with a $500 billion backstop for businesses. It was also a day in which President Trump indicated it was his intention to have the country reopened within weeks rather than months which along with congressional optimism brought about the biggest percentage gain for stocks since 1933.
Regarding the virus itself, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said the country has turned the corner on testing which will help officials track the trajectory of the virus. This, in turn, should help with future response plans and could result in more targeted solutions as opposed to the across the board stoppages we’re currently experiencing. One of the bright spots on the horizon is the recent FDA approval of a new test that can produce results in as few as 45 minutes. The new tests are set to be shipped nationwide starting Friday for full use across the country next week.
In Florida, we have 1,467 instate cases, 20 deaths, and 3 recovered. In the US there are 54,916 cases, 784 deaths, and 379 recovered. Worldwide, there are 423,329 cases, 18,923 death, and 109,172 recovered. We experienced over 82,000 new cases worldwide on Tuesday, with more than 8,000 new cases in the US and over 200 additional deaths. Furthermore, the United States remains 3rd in the world in total cases just behind China and Italy.
The most disconcerting aspect of the virus at this point remains the death/recovery rate based on closed cases. We have nearly double the deaths to recoveries in the US thus far and worldwide the death rate has spiked to 15%. We’ve seen the death rate rise as the reach of the virus grows. The common pattern with the virus spreading is an increase in death rates with vulnerable early on, followed by improving rates over time as people begin to recover.
Tuesday also brought 240 new cases in Florida as the virus is now present in all 67 counties. As of this entry, there are 1,467 total instate cases. We also had three additional deaths attributed to COVID-19. Governor DeSantis used additional executive action to order self-isolation measures for anyone who has traveled to New York or New Jersey over the last three weeks. We also continued to see the impact grow from reckless Spring Break activities as 14 University of Florida Students tested positive for the virus. Over 20 students have now been diagnosed across the state due to Spring Break parties which led to Governor DeSantis ordering the closing of beaches and boat ramps across the state.
The range in age for positive tests in our state ranges from 2 to 96. More than half of all of Florida’s cases currently are in the tri-county area with Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach having the most cases in the state. Here’s the count in South Florida right now...
- Broward: 312
- Miami-Dade: 367
- Palm Beach: 104
We continue to see a high rate of positive test results in Florida. To date, 9% of all tests for COVID-19 have come back positive. That’s down from 20% percent last week - which is improved news. Still, it remains much higher than the guidance provided by the Coronavirus Task Force of 1%-4% worldwide. This would seem to suggest many Floridians had the virus and are just being documented and not necessarily an indication of greater spread. There are 1,221 outstanding tests awaiting results, expect these numbers to continue to increase today.
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