Florida COVID update Wednesday: 16,935 new cases, hospitalizations break record for 3rd day

Florida reported 16,935 new COVID cases, 140 deaths and more than 12,000 people hospitalized in the state as of Tuesday, the third day in a row of record-breaking COVID hospitalizations as Florida hospitals temporarily suspend elective surgeries to conserve staff and make room for infected patients, the majority of them younger and unvaccinated.

The high number of hospitalizations has not been seen since the surge last July, the worst month for Florida COVID hospitalizations since the pandemic began 17 months ago.

Florida, which represents about 6.5% of the U.S. population, accounted for 16% of the country’s new cases on Tuesday, based on the data the state is reporting to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state’s seven-day average of new cases was 17,756 as of Aug. 3, up from a seven-day average of 2,195 on July 3, a 700 percent increase.

The state set a single-day record of new cases for Friday, July 30, when it reported 21,683 new COVID cases to the CDC on Saturday.

January was the worst month of the Florida pandemic, with daily case counts routinely topping 10,000. That followed a surge in July 2020, when daily case counts and hospitalizations also topped 10,000. Hospitalizations were higher in July 2020 over January, as there was not a vaccine yet. The latter half of July 2021 and early August has been Florida’s third COVID-19 surge.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Florida

There were 12,408 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, breaking the state’s hospitalization record for the third day in a row, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services as of 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.

About 2,406 people were in intensive care, or nearly 40 percent of the state’s ICU hospital beds.

Some Florida hospitals are beginning to announce plans to temporarily halt elective surgeries due to rising COVID cases, similar to what was seen last year during the pandemic.

Hospitals that have announced plans to pause elective surgeries include AdventHealth and Health First in Central Florida. On Wednesday, Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward announced it will temporarily suspend elective surgeries across its six hospitals to make room for infected patients.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter that “23% of new COVID hospitalizations in the U.S are in Florida, and their hospitals are being overwhelmed again.”

“We are doing everything we can to help the people of FL, and they’re stepping up by getting vaccinated – we hope @GovRonDeSantis joins us in this fight,” she wrote.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden had a message for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis about not implementing mask mandates: “Get out of the way.” On Wednesday, DeSantis clapped back, saying COVID-19 is spreading because Biden’s administration has not secured the border with Mexico.

As of Tuesday, there were 1,497 patients with COVID in 25 of 29 Miami-Dade hospitals reporting their data to the county, which has recently mandated that local hospitals report their COVID cases to county officials. Of the 1,497 patients, 279 were in the Intensive Care Units at the hospitals.

On Tuesday, according to the county data, 178 people were admitted into the hospitals. Of those, 165 patients were not vaccinated, or 93 percent. Only 13 people were vaccinated.

Cumulatively, Florida has recorded at least 2,658,631 confirmed COVID cases statewide and 39,319 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the CDC.

COVID-19 vaccines

Nearly 10.5 million eligible Floridians have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, or have completed Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine. About 48.8% of Florida’s total population is fully vaccinated, according to the the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Florida switched from daily to weekly COVID reports in early June. The Miami Herald can no longer include new deaths because the state stopped classifying deaths by county in its report. The CDC does not display daily case totals for counties, only weekly averages.

Here’s the CDC’s vaccination data as of Wednesday:

▪ In Miami-Dade County, 2,060,158 people, or 75.8% of the county’s total population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC. About 1,677,683 people, or 61.7% of the county’s total population, are fully vaccinated.

In Miami-Dade, 87.6% of the population 12 years old and over, 90% of people 18 and older, and 99.9% of people 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Tuesday’s CDC data showed 100% for people 65 and older who have received at least one dose of the vaccine. But that went down to 99.9% on Wednesday.

▪ In Broward County, 1,242,897, or 63.6% of the county’s total population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC. About 1,015,066 people are fully vaccinated, or 52% of the county’s total population.

In Broward, 73.8% of the population 12 years old and over, 76% of people 18 and older, and 95.4% of people 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

▪ In Palm Beach County, 883,666, or 59% of the county’s total population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC. About 759,440 people are fully vaccinated, or 50.7% of the county’s total population.

In the county, 67.3% of the population 12 years old and over, 69.6% of people 18 and older, and 89% of people 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

▪ In Monroe County, 52,712, or 71% of the county’s total population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC. About 44,126 people are fully vaccinated, or 59.4% of the county’s total population.

In Monroe, 79.2% of the population 12 years old and over, 81.7% of people 18 and older, and 99.9% of people 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

▪ In Manatee County, 220,547, or 54.7% of the county’s total population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the CDC. About 188,165 people are fully vaccinated, or 46.7% of the county’s total population.

In Manatee, 61.8% of the population 12 years old and over, 64.4% of people 18 and older, and 87.1% of people 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Miami Herald staff writers Ana Claudia Chacin and Daniel Chang contributed to this article.