As new data related to the coronavirus pandemic gets released to the public, the I-Team is committed to breaking down its significance and what each update means. To help you stay on top of it all, we are compiling all the key breakdowns you need to know.
Tuesday, July 14
Florida breaks its own record for new hospitalizations (again)
Florida posted a record-breaking number of new coronavirus hospitalizations in a single week – for the third week in a row. Also, the number of new patients admitted to Florida hospitals for COVID-19 has nearly doubled in the past two weeks.
Last week, there were 2,456 new patients admitted to the hospital for coronavirus. Both the weekly totals and 7-day average are continuing in an upward trend.
For the first time this week, we also have data on the number of coronavirus patients currently hospitalized. While other states have been releasing current hospitalization numbers, Florida only began sharing these numbers a few days ago.
As of Tuesday, there were 1,147 hospitalized across 10 counties in the Tampa Bay area.
Thursday, July 9
Nearly 9,000 Tampa Bay area businesses got federal paycheck protection loans
After months of secrecy, the U.S. Treasury has finally released the names of businesses that received federal government-back loans meant to help businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.
The new data shows Florida businesses received more than 42,000 of the Paycheck Protection Program loans over $150,000. The Tampa Bay area made up just over 20 percent of those loans with nearly 9,000 PPP loans.
The breakdown of cities with the most loans:
- Tampa: 2,422
- Sarasota: 940
- St. Petersburg: 687
Thursday, July 7
COVID-19 hospitalizations hit another record high
Florida hospitalizations posted another record high last week with a 46% spike in COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital compared to the previous week.
It’s the second week in a row that the state has posted a record for new coronavirus hospitalizations. Last week, 1,845 new COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital. The red line on this chart is the 7-day average for new hospitalizations, which is also going up.
It’s important to note these numbers only include Florida residents. The data the state puts out publicly makes it nearly impossible to track how many snowbirds or part-time residents have been admitted to Florida hospitals on a daily or weekly basis. But the I-Team dug through state data and found:
- 102 people classified as “non-residents” have died of coronavirus in Florida
- 310 non-residents have been admitted to Florida hospitalized for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic
- At least 71 of those patients have died
Thursday, July 2
Florida adds 10,000+ new COVID-19 cases Thursday
Florida hit another record today, marking the first time the state reported more than 10,000 new positive coronavirus tests in a single day. Gov. Ron DeSantis and other leaders have been saying we are seeing more positive cases because the state is doing more testing.
So, the I-Team looked at statewide testing over the past 10 days. The trend line (in red) does show a slight increase.
But during that same 10-day time period, the red trend line for new positive cases is much steeper, which shows the increase in positive cases is outpacing our testing rates.
On Thursday, the state reported more than 10,000 additional positive tests – the largest single-day jump so far.
June Highlights
- June 30: Florida hits single-week record for new COVID-19 hospitalizations
- June 22: Tampa Bay area small businesses received less than 10% of the state's emergency bridge loans
- June 18: Nearly 39% of business social distancing complaints were in Tampa Bay area
- June 16: Florida sees a spike in coronavirus hospitalizations
- June 4: Florida isn’t tracking nursing home residents who refuse COVID-19 testing
May Highlights
- May 19: Hospitalizations for COVID-19-related patients reach plateau
- May 14: Larger drop than expected in March sales tax collections
- May 5: Florida's unemployment numbers showed big increase in mid-April
- May 4: ICU bed demand is growing
April Highlights:
- April 28: Unemployment hitting hospitality workers hardest
- April 21: 25% of coronavirus deaths in Florida related to nursing homes
- April 13: Florida's actual death toll could be even higher
- April 9: Racial disparity found in Florida patients hospitalized from COVID-19
