Some Florida labs may only be reporting positive COVID-19 test results: report
Rep. Brian Mast reacts to a report that found mistakes in Florida's coronavirus testing results
Florida set a record high in daily coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, with 132 lives lost to the virus.
The figure marks the most deaths announced in the state in a 24-hour period, though not all the deaths necessarily occurred in that time frame.
Health officials also reported 9,194 new virus cases on Tuesday.
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So far a total of 4,409 deaths and 291,629 cases have been reported in Florida, according to the state health department.
Intensive care unit capacity data from the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration, which is constantly being updated, confirmed the dire situation.
As of Wednesday morning, the agency reported that 54 hospitals with adult intensive care units were at full capacity.
Statewide, officials reported a 17 percent availability of adult ICU capacity. There was a 39 percent availability listed in pediatric ICUs.
In hard-hit counties like Miami-Dade, with nearly 70,000 total cases and at least 4,443 hospitalizations, 38 percent of hospitals with adult intensive care units hit full capacity, according to agency data. In Broward County, for example, with about 32,800 cases and 2,572 hospitalizations, only two of 17 hospitals reported full adult ICU capacity. In Palm Beach County with nearly 22,230 cases, three out of 14 hospitals reported full adult ICU capacity.
In a roundtable discussion on Tuesday with Miami-Dade County mayors, Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged the worsening situation.
“We’re in a situation now here, in Miami-Dade County in particular, where we see some of metrics have risen, certainly the number of positive tests which are an indicator, but not necessarily the most important, but we have seen, of course, increases in visits to the emergency department and in hospital admissions, particularly over the last three weeks…”
DeSantis said a lot of the hospital admissions, particularly in the southern part of Broward County, are from Miami-Dade residents.
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Broward County lies along Miami-Dade’s north border.
“Dade right now is the place where we’re seeing the most spread and then, obviously, the most clinical consequences,” the governor said.
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