MIAMI (WSVN) - The number of coronavirus cases in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties has exceeded 10,000, and South Florida alone consists of more than half of the state’s confirmed cases, according to health officials.
The Florida Department of Health released updated coronavirus numbers at 6 p.m., Friday, showing how easily the virus has spread in the community.
“Over 60%, I think, are in three counties in Southeast Florida, Broward, Dade and Palm Beach County,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “In Miami, where they’ve been between 15 and 20 percent have tested positive in Miami-Dade, and so you see that it spread, it’s spread more widely there.”
Miami-Dade County leads with the highest infection rate in the state with 6,300 cases.
Broward County has reported nearly 3,000 cases of the virus while Palm Beach County has reported nearly 1,500 cases.
Monroe County, meanwhile, has reported 55 positive coronavirus cases.
Of the over 10,000 cases in South Florida, 238 people have died and more than 1,100 have been hospitalized.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez believes the number of people the virus has killed in the county is higher than what state officials are reporting.
“There’s at least 100 fatalities here in Miami-Dade County, and we’re getting some interesting stats about that,” Gimenez said. “It appears that three-fourths of the fatalities are actually males.”
It is possible that the number of cases in South Florida will increase because DeSantis announced Friday that anyone with symptoms, regardless of their age, can get tested at the Hard Rock Stadium drive-thru site.
People who think they have been exposed to the virus can get a free test, as well.
“Anybody who has had close sustained contact with an individual who has recently tested positive for COVID-19 may get tested, even if you personally haven’t developed symptoms,” DeSantis said.
Although more people are being tested for the coronavirus, state officials said, overall, the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus stands at 11%.
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