The daily rate of people in Florida testing positive with COVID-19 fell below 5 % Saturday, a key indicator that state officials have been targeting for months.
The Florida Department of Health on Saturday reported that 4.87 % of people being tested for the first time tested positive for COVID-19.
It has been months since the state saw results below 5%, and it adds to a decline that’s been underway since Aug. 12, when the rate of people testing positive last topped 10%.
State health officials said 4,311 of 88,491 reports were positive for the coronavirus in Florida. They also reported on Saturday the additional deaths of 107 more people. Those deaths may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to the health department.
The World Health Organization recommends that states maintain a positivity rate of 5 % or less for 14 consecutive days before reopening. As of Saturday, only 23 states meet that criteria, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The 5 percent marker has also been repeatedly mentioned as part of the conversation about re-opening in-person classes in Florida. Attorneys for the state’s teacher union included expert testimony about it during a hearing earlier this week in Tallahassee.
The Johns Hopkins site reports that Florida’s current seven-day average for all COVID-19 tests is 14.5%. Johns Hopkins includes all test results in its data, not just first-time results tracked by the state. According to the state, Saturday is the tenth-consecutive day the statewide positive test rate – counting those tested for the first time – was below 10%.
ABOUT THE DATA:
The Florida Department of Health produces a daily update around 11 a.m. with information about COVID-19 cases and deaths that were reported over the previous 24 hours. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state separately tracks cases and deaths that occurred on specific days on its dashboard and those totals are frequently updated.
Greater Tampa Bay region positive tests as of Saturday, August 22:
- Hillsborough: 35,574
- Pinellas: 19,352
- Polk: 16,158
- Manatee: 10,123
- Pasco: 7,693
- Sarasota: 6,980
- Hernando: 2,423
Florida COVID-19 daily total of positive tests/deaths for the last two weeks:
- August 22: 4,311/107
- August 21: 4,684 /118
- August 20: 4,555 /117
- August 19: 4,115 /174
- August 18: 3,838 /219
- August 17: 2,678 /87
- August 16: 3,779 /107
- August 15: 6,352 /204
- August 14: 6,148 /228
- August 13: 6,236 /148
- August 12: 8,109 /212
- August 11: 5,831/276
- August 10: 4,155/91
- August 9: 6,229 / 77
