FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida reported 112,115 new COVID-19 cases from the past three days coming out of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, data that indicates infections are starting to slow.
That three-day total, according to the CDC, amounts to an average of about 37,000 cases per day in Florida. Last week, the state reported a record 430,297 new COVID-19 infections, which equates to more than 61,000 per day.
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Researchers have suggested that this week could mark the peak of the omicron variant wave in the United States.
While the fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, COVID-19 deaths in the United States are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March.
Florida has now verified at least 5,153,539 COVID-19 cases and 63,455 deaths connected to the virus since the start of the pandemic, according to the CDC. The case numbers wouldn’t include people who test positive using at-home tests and don’t report their results to health officials.
On Tuesday, 10,643 people in the state were hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the Florida Hospital Association.
ℹ Florida COVID-19 Update for January 18, 2022
— Florida Hospital Association (@FLHospitalAssn) January 18, 2022
🚨 Total Confirmed Hospitalizations: 10,643 pic.twitter.com/SflTkwAfNd
ALSO SEE: Free at-home COVID test kits to every American can be ordered online
For information on where you can get a COVID-19 test or vaccine in South Florida, click here.