Tuesday’s information was mixed. On the plus side, the FDA approved the first at-home test for COVID-19. The test kit created by LabCorp will be immediately rolled out for those working on the front-lines in healthcare and first responders. It’s expected to be widely available for sale within “weeks”. Also, the general trend in new cases across the country continued to suggest the peak might be behind us with a lower overall death rate as well. On the flip side, a VA study of hydroxychloroquine revealed no benefit in treating COVID-19. In fact, those treated with the drug used to treat malaria performed worse than those who weren’t treated with any prescribed drug. Also, the CDC warned of a likely second wave of the coronavirus to emerge with the traditional flu season this fall. They’re recommending flu shots as soon as they’re available this summer to prevent an overburdening of the healthcare system.
Around the world, there are 2,565,299 cases, 177,775 deaths, and 696,779 recoveries. While in the US, we have 819,175 cases, 45,343 deaths, and 82,973 recoveries. In Florida, we have 27,869 cases, 867 deaths, and no specific Florida recoveries.
We experienced over 80,000 additional diagnosed cases and over 7,000 deaths worldwide on Tuesday. Those figures were both higher than the totals reported on Monday. We’re seeing the virus ramp up in previously lightly impacted areas, especially in Russia which saw its biggest one day jump in diagnosed cases. In the United States, we had over 26,000 new cases and more than 2,800 deaths. The new diagnosed case count was lower, supporting the recent improved trends in the United States, although the death toll was higher than Monday’s totals. For the month of April, COVID-19 remains the top estimated cause of death in the United States.
We had 811 new cases and 44 deaths in Florida attributed to the coronavirus over the past day. That’s a mixed bag of news. More diagnosed cases than on Monday but fewer deaths. In general, the recent improving trend in our state is intact. Yesterday’s new case count is still about 400 fewer than last Thursday and the peak for cases in our state remains April 3rd. This week, I started tracking Florida’s performance against President Trump’s 3-Phase plan for reopening the country. It continues to show the potential for us to be on track for a potential phase 1 reopening on May 1st.
Overall hospitalizations are currently at their highest levels in Florida, with 4,226 COVID-19 patients currently being served. That’s an increase of about 200 yesterday, though Florida’s hospital system still has capacity available if needed. 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 in that order.
- Broward: 4,168
- Miami-Dade: 10,056
- Palm Beach: 2,320
We continue to see the positive test rate improve. To date, 9.6% of all tests for COVID-19 have come back positive. That’s a decline from 11% at the peak, backing up the idea we’ve crossed the peak in Florida. It’s also one of the three keys to a phase 1 reopening under the president’s plan. Still, the further into testing we go, the newest diagnosed cases are new cases obtained through community spread. This reinforces the importance of adhering to the warnings of public officials including social distancing, safer-at-home declarations and wearing masks in public.
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