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As the Florida coronavirus pandemic spreads for the Second Big Wave, there is a key difference between now and summer: It’s less of a problem specific to South Florida.
At their summer peaks, Miami and Fort Lauderdale had twice as many cases per population as Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa.
The two most populous counties in the state, Miami-Dade and Broward, make up almost a quarter of all Floridians. But in July, after cases exploded in and around Miami, area hospitals held 36% of all COVID-19 patients.
On a per capita basis, they ranked second and third among all Florida counties (after Baker, 28,000) in hospital patients that month (based on data since July 10 – Florida has been one of the last states to publish their current patient count in real time.).
In the current surge in cases, the pandemic is more evenly spread across Florida. All corners of the state have seen the number of cases and hospitalizations skyrocket, pushing Florida towards its peak summer levels.
As a result, Miami-Dade and Broward now have the same share of sick people in Florida as the healthy state.
The winter coronavirus wave is less concentrated in South Florida
Floridians are more likely now than they were in the summer to live in a county with more hospitalizations per capita than in the state as a whole.
South Florida hospital numbers have rebounded to about half of where they were at their peak. They are still increasing, but more slowly than those in the rest of the state.
Hospitals in counties like Duval, Pinellas and Polk are, however, much closer to what they were in the summer. Pasco County is far past its peak in July and its intensive care unit beds were over 95% full Monday through Thursday. Cases in Jacksonville zip codes are increasing, faster than those in any other major city right now.
Hospitals in Hillsborough are “strained” by limited staff as their burden is almost as heavy as in July.
Across Central Florida, as the Orlando sentinel reported, test positivity rates have been well over 10% on most days, a sure sign that the virus is spreading uncontrollably.
Cases continue to increase statewide, in all age groups. Long-term care facilities had more active cases among residents on Friday than on any day since September 1.
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