August 13 update: 82 new positive tests, 5 new hospitalizations, no new deaths

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

The 7-day average of cases has dropped by 17 in the past 14 days.

According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 4,391 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 82 from yesterday on 583 test results with an official test positivity rate of 7.6%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 31. Five new hospitalizations were reported, and no new deaths were reported.

Of the 82 people whose tests came back yesterday, 8 were 65 or older (the chart shows 80 because 2 were from previous dates):

A total of 26 deaths have been reported in the county. Nine of the deaths were reportedly from one long-term care facility, Parklands Care Center, and two were from other long-term care facilities. The 20 deaths were first reported as positive cases on April 9 (4), April 18 (2), April 20, April 21, April 23, May 10, May 12, May 24, June 23, June 29, July 1, July 6 (2), July 7, July 8, July 9 (2), July 13, July 16, July 22, and July 24 (2).

194 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 5 since yesterday; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 increased by 6. 35 people have been added to the hospitalization total in the past week.

The website with current numbers of institutional care cases in Alachua County shows 196 cases, a decrease of 8 from the previous report. The chart says, “The data is not cumulative but reflects the information available for current residents and staff with cases as of yesterday’s date.” (The top line shows totals for the state.)

The county report shows a cumulative total of 151 cases in long-term care (an increase of 1 from yesterday) and 63 cases in a correctional facility (an increase of 4 from yesterday).

Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 14.87%, and ICU capacity is 12%.

North Florida Regional has 14 ICU beds available (29% of capacity), and Shands has 23 available (9% of capacity). ICU beds are used for all intensive-care patients, not just COVID patients.

The overall number of people (from all counties) hospitalized here for COVID-19 increased from 120 to 126. It’s down 7 from 133 a week ago.

State COVID-19 hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, from 7,459 a week ago to 6,325 today.

The state has 557,137 cases (an increase of 6,236 from yesterday on 34,623 new test results) and 8,924 deaths (an increase of 148 from yesterday, 75 of which were from long-term care facilities).

Florida reported 148 COVID deaths today. The changes were spread over 26 different dates, and July 16 is still the peak, with 172. Here are the actual dates of death:

8/13 – 2
8/12 – 15
8/11 – 24
8/10 – 22
8/9 – 5
8/8 – 7
8/7 – 7
8/6 – 5
8/5 – 6
8/4 – 3
8/3 – 2
8/2 – 9
8/1 – 15
7/31 – 9
7/30 – 1
7/29 – 3
7/28 – 3
7/27 – 1
7/26 – 1
7/25 – 2
7/23 – 2
7/22 – removed 1
7/21 – 1
7/19 – 1
7/14 – 2
7/11 – 1

These are not totals by day; they’re increments added today.

The state also publishes a chart of the percentage of new tests that are positive by day (this chart is for the whole state), and yesterday’s positive rate was 9.52%. (The state charts only count people who test positive for the first time, and they may assign results to a different date than the day the test result came back. Our calculations are just positives/total tests for new results.)

73,329 test results have come back so far in Alachua County (up 583 from yesterday). The official positivity rate yesterday was 7.6%.

In new results, the University of Florida is reporting that 1 out of 15 faculty and staff without symptoms tested positive, and 2 out of 163 students without symptoms tested positive as part of UF’s “Screen, Test & Protect” program. 1 out of 16 students “with or without symptoms” tested positive at the Student Health Care Center.

According to the daily report, there are 3,505 cases in Gainesville, 277 in Alachua, 191 in Newberry, 106 in High Springs, 78 in Archer, 75 in Hawthorne, 37 in Micanopy, 19 in Waldo, 13 in Santa Fe, 9 in LaCrosse, 8 in Tioga, 2 in Earleton, 2 in Jonesville, 2 in “University of Fl,” and 1 in Evinston. 9 cases are listed in the city of “Missing” in Alachua County, 1 case is erroneously listed in “Wesley Chapel” in Alachua County, and 1 case is in “Unk” in Alachua County. Location data is not available for all cases.

The 7-day moving average of new cases is at 63.7 through yesterday’s cases. Here is the 7-day average of new cases for the past 14 days. The 7-day average of cases has dropped by 16 in the past 14 days.

Testing information

Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing
The Florida Department of Health in Alachua County (DOH-Alachua) is offering drive-thru COVID-19 testing on Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. DOH-Alachua is offering COVID-19 testing to Alachua County residents, regardless of symptoms. Residents who want a COVID-19 test are asked to call 352-334-8810 for an appointment. A referral from a doctor is not required. If your insurance covers this, it will be billed (no copay is required). If not, it is free.

COVID-19 Testing Results Phone Line
The Department of Health in Alachua County has set up a dedicated line for residents to call for COVID-19 test results. The phone number is 352-334-8828, and it is staffed Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.