Florida’s omicron-fueled COVID-19 surge continued to show signs of easing as the state reported a decline in cases and hospitalizations on Saturday, data shows.
There were 49,339 new cases on Friday, bringing the 7-day average of new cases to its lowest level in eight days, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The count does not include those who used at-home tests.
The new data shows that more than 5 million Floridians have been infected with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic.
The number of patients in the hospital with COVID-19 also held steady for the past week, after more than a month of steep increases. There were 11,561 patients with the virus on Friday, data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows, a slight decline from the previous two days. The number of intensive-care beds in Florida occupied by COVID-infected patients increased slightly to 1,510 on Friday.
The state added another six deaths to its toll, ending the week with one of its highest tolls since the end of the delta wave. The 7-day average for new deaths stood at 66 on Saturday, the highest since early December. Death reports lag behind case reports by several weeks.
On Friday, Florida reported the first decline in its weekly testing positivity rate, from 31.3% last week to 29.3% this week.
The decline in cases this week has also led to a decline in Florida’s per-capita ranking among other states. Florida dropped to 9th in the U.S. on Saturday with a 7-day average of 286 cases per 100,000 population after being in the top five earlier this month. But in per-capita death rankings, Florida has risen from near last a week ago to 41st on Saturday with a 7-day average of 0.31 deaths per 100,000.
As of Friday, at least 5,041,918 Floridians have been infected by COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and at least 63,090 have died in total.
Meanwhile, the number of vaccine doses being administered in Florida is averaging 68,412 per day over the past seven days, the lowest vaccination level in over a week. About 64% of Floridians are fully vaccinated and 35% have received booster shots.
Here are the key statistics in Florida to watch:
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