MIAMI — Florida on Thursday reported 27,533 additional COVID-19 cases and 628 more deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data.
In the past seven days, the state has added 152 deaths, the highest seven-day death average since Oct. 18, according to Herald calculations of CDC data. In the past seven days, the state has added 29,415 cases per day on average.
In all, Florida has recorded at least 5,448,288 confirmed COVID cases and 64,635 deaths.
Of the deaths added, all but 26 — about 96% — occurred since Dec. 30, and about 71% died in the last two weeks, according to Herald calculations of CDC data.
The CDC backlogs cases and deaths for Florida on Mondays and Thursdays, when multiple days in the past have their totals changed. In August, Florida began reporting cases and deaths by the “case date” and “death date” rather than the date they were logged into the system.
There were 10,287 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services report Thursday. This data is reported from 256 Florida hospitals. The number of people hospitalized across the state is 742 fewer than the day prior, when 236 hospitals reported.
COVID-19 patients take up 17.66% of all inpatient beds in the latest report, compared to 19.71% among Wednesday’s reporting hospitals.
Omicron, so far, is not as deadly as delta’s surge last summer. Hospitalizations have not approached records set during delta’s wave from July through September.
At delta’s August peak, more than 15,000 patients were hospitalized in Florida, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Of the people hospitalized across the state, 1,464 were in intensive-care units, a decrease of 78 from Wednesday. That represents about 22.85% of the state’s ICU beds, compared to 24.01% the previous day.
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