Coronavirus | Featured Stories

By Beth Stibal |

Florida dips below key 5% COVID positivity rate

Virus Outbreak Florida
A Hollywood police officer wears a protective face mask while walking along the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk during the new coronavirus pandemic, Wednesday, May 13, 2020, in Hollywood, Fla. The Broadwalk opened Tuesday for the first time since the pandemic, and is open for limited hours daily for exercise only. Broward County beaches remain closed. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The Florida Department of Health’s latest data shows the state’s coronavirus positivity rate has dipped below 5% for the first time since the start of 2021.

Infectious diseases experts say 5% positivity rate is a huge indicator of community spread of the virus, so getting and staying below that threshold for at least two weeks is a major goal for state health officials.

Currently, according to the DOH, the state’s 14-day average positivity rate is 5.89%.

Current Situation in Florida as of 9:25 am EDT, Sat. Mar. 6, 2021
New Case Positivity Rate
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The state reported 4,690 new cases of the coronavirus for a total of 1,940,897 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday.

Florida also reported an additional 107 deaths Saturday, bringing the state’s total to 32,200 deaths since the coronavirus pandemic infected Florida just over a year ago.

As of Saturday afternoon, 3,352 people were hospitalized in Florida with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.

Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, breathing trouble, sore throat, muscle pain, and loss of taste or smell. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia.

So far, 3,462,520 total people have been vaccinated in Florida with 1,560,206 receiving at least the first dose of vaccine.

However, Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning about the possibility of a fourth COVID-19 wave. On CBS’s Face The Nation, President Biden’s chief medical advisor on the pandemic urged Americans to be careful as possible as the country starts to reopen. He noted that a New York variant is alarming because it is resistant to some effective treatments and it is spreading. Dr. Fauci added that we are heading in the right direction, but we can’t ease up now.