3-year anniversary: ​​Florida coronavirus cases rise to 7,516,906

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida. On Sunday night, March 1, 2020, the Florida Department of Health announced on Twitter that a 29-year-old Tampa woman and a 53-year-old man from Manatee County had become ill. “presumptive cases” of coronavirus, the first in the state.

Exactly three years, or 1,095 days, brings the number of infections to 7,516,906, or 4,573 per day, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Thursday. The third most populous state, with a population of 26.2 million, is second only to California, with a population of 12,075,768, and Texas, with a population of 8,379,444.

Governor Ron DeSantis declared the situation a public health emergency on March 1.

The next day, at a press conference in Tampa, he said the following: “Despite these cases, the overall immediate threat to the population remains low. With that said, we expect more positive test results. We have taken additional steps to help contain the spread of the virus.”

On March 5, the first two deaths were reported in Santa Rosa and Lee counties. That number increased to 86,294 or 78.9 per day, which is also third behind California at 100,191 and Texas at 92,921.

The day before the first cases were announced in Florida, on February 29, a leap year, the first death in the United States was announced in Washington, with the death toll now at 1,116,637. On January 21, the first case was reported in the state of Washington, which rose to 103,268,408.

It wasn’t until March 11 that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19, so named because of the first worldwide cases in Wuhan, China, in 2019, a pandemic, and that designation remains in place.

A few days later, most of the United States closed, including restaurants and malls. Office workers have switched to remote work, and schools have switched to online learning.

The school district in Palm Beach County announced on March 13 that schools would be closed for one week until spring break, although they extended for a few more weeks and moved to virtual learning.

The school district’s announcement comes a day after the district’s first confirmed cases of coronavirus. On March 22, the first death was announced in Palm Beach County.

The state no longer releases aggregate deaths by county, although it does list cases.

In the early days of the pandemic, the state reported extensive health data. The department released its first summary report on March 16, 2020, with 142 cases and five deaths.

The state previously issued status reports twice a day, as well as a dashboard that included details, including cases by zip code, but on June 4, 2021, it moved to weekly reports, and on March 27, 2022, once every two weeks.

The state continued to report daily data to the CDC, but on October 20, 2022, that federal agency moved to weekly updates.

On March 3, 2020, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center launched, but on March 10, it will update its maps and charts for city, state, country, and world data for the last time.

Information from the World Health Organization and Worldmeters continues to track data around the world.

Abbreviated reports reflect a decline in the prevalence of the disease.

Virtually every county in Florida is designated “low” for transmission of three classes, below “medium” and “high”, where indoor masks are recommended.

But just a few months ago, virtually the entire state was listed as “tall.”

The ebb and flow of the virus is marked by variations – delta in the summer of 2021 and omicron in late December 2021.

The daily record was 76,618 cases on January 8, 2021 amid the omicron surge. The highest number of deaths was 434 on August 27, 2021 during the delta surge.

Last week, 15,174 cases were registered, of which 9,904 as of October 19, 2022. In two weeks, 287 people died, on December 7, 2022 – 99.

Year after year, the number of cases and deaths reflect this situation.

The death rate was 31,263 after the first year, or 86 per day, of which 69,789 in the second year, 107 per day and 45 per day last year.

After the first year of COVID-19, the number of cases was 1,924,114 or 10,737 per day compared to the second year of 5,843,401 or 6,864 per day and 4,573 per day last year.

In fact, there are many more cases than the total number. In early 2021, rapid tests became available, including free ones from the US government, and these data are often not reported to health authorities.

Early in the pandemic, the disease was more extensive than reported and there were few tests available.

Testing has increased dramatically, including on government websites.

On January 3, 2022, it reached a record 276,593 in Florida.

A total of 65,895,322 tests were carried out up to February 23 this year.

Florida has reported 101,110 test results in the past seven days, averaging 14,444 per day.

At the beginning of the pandemic, there were several ways to mitigate the virus.

On December 22, 2020, the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine were administered, followed by Modern and Johnson & Johnson approvals. DeSantis was there when the first seniors received the vaccine at The Villages.

“We’re not going to put young, healthy workers ahead of our elderly and vulnerable population,” DeSantis said.

Vaccines are currently available for children as young as six months of age.

In Florida, 82.5% of the total population is vaccinated, with 94% aged 18 and over, 92.1% aged 12 and over, and 86.9% aged 5 and over.

Completed primary courses account for 69.4% of the total, 79.4% aged 18 and over, 77.7% aged 12 and over, 73.2% aged 5 and over. 12 years and older, 11.6% 5 years and older, 29.4% 65 years and older.

The state numbers reflect US totals for one shot and two, but lag behind in the updated booster.

Medications also help moderate the course of the illness, including Paxlovid, if taken as soon as possible after a positive COVID-19 test result. In addition, intravenous drugs, including remdesivir, have become available.

Vaccines combined with antiviral therapy have reduced the burden on the hospital system.

Florida’s record hospitalization rate was 17,295 (29.35% capacity) on August 29, 2021 during the delta surge. In the US, it was a record 160,113 (20.6%) on January 20, 2022 amid the omicron surge.

Hospitalizations in Florida have recently dropped to 1,501 (2.87% of capacity) from 892 on April 11, 2022, the lowest number since records began in July 2020, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Up-to-date data is available at wptv.com/coronavirus