The news wasn’t especially good outside of the United States on Monday with a seven-day trend in new cases and deaths rising again. Around the world we had 14,866,353 cases, 613,542 deaths, 8,923,956 recoveries. This includes the highest average daily new case count. The news was better in the US and specifically Florida. For the first day since June 9th, the seven-day moving average of new cases declined in the United States. We now have 3,961,556 cases, 143,835 deaths, and 1,850,224 recoveries.
The news was even better in Florida where we had our third consecutive day of a decline in the trendline of new cases. Many news outlets are choosing to focus on headline numbers that don’t detect recent improvements in cases but increasingly, especially in Florida, there’s room for optimism that we may be turning the corner in the recent spike in cases. We now have 360,394 cases, 5,075 deaths, and 38,440 recoveries.
Another bit of improved news comes in the form of the closed case death rate for those diagnosed with the virus. It dropped to 6% worldwide, which is the lowest since March 11th and equals the lowest rate during the pandemic. The rate currently sits at 7% in the US. The increase in testing combined with improved treatment options for those critically ill is clearly making a positive difference.
In Florida, as I referenced, the news was better than the headlines might have suggested on Monday. Yes, we crossed the 5,000 death total and yes, we crossed 10,000 new cases for the sixth consecutive day. Otherwise, the news was better. The total was below the seven-day moving average for the third consecutive day. The daily average of deaths did tick higher with a pandemic high of 114 over the past week, however, this data trails the newly diagnosed cases, so it’s not unexpected.
After reaching a low of 5.2% in early June, the rate since testing began has risen to 11.8%, including testing at greater than 10% positive, the target rate, each day since June 22nd. The average age of someone diagnosed with the virus rose to 40 over the weekend. While more Floridians have been diagnosed between the ages of 25-34 than any other ten-year window, the increase in average age demonstrates spread from younger adults to older adults. This reinforces the importance of using proper safety measures like wearing masks in public and socially distancing.
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