August 15 update: 61 new positive tests, one new death
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 4,544 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 61 from yesterday, with an official test positivity rate of 4.8%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 32. One new death was reported.
The new death is a 71-year-old male who tested positive on August 2. According to the case line data, he visited an emergency room but was not hospitalized.
Of the 61 people whose tests came back yesterday, 4 were 65 or older (the chart shows 62 because 1 was from a previous date).
A total of 28 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 28 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 21, July 22, July 24 (2), and August 2.
216 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 9 since yesterday; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 (which includes non-residents) increased by 1. 45 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 209 cases, an increase of 10 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 153 cases in long-term care (no increase from yesterday) and 64 cases in a correctional facility (no increase from yesterday).
Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 14.62%, and ICU capacity is 10.65%.
North Florida Regional has 8 ICU beds available (16.5% of capacity), and Shands has 25 available (9.5% 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 125 to 126.
State COVID-19 hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, from 6,890 a week ago to 5,721 today.
The state has 569,637 cases (an increase of 6,352 from yesterday on 41,272 new test results) and 9,345 deaths (an increase of 204 from yesterday, 58 of which were from long-term care facilities).
Changes in deaths were reported on 42 different dates, going back to May 10. The current peak is July 20 (179). Here are the actual dates of death:
8/15 – 1
8/14 – 16
8/13 – 28
8/12 – 21
8/11 – 12
8/10 – 9
8/9 – 9
8/8 – 4
8/7 – 3
8/6 – 4
8/5 – 2
8/4 – 2
8/3 – 17
8/2 – 9
8/1 – 2
7/31 – 7
7/30 – 5
7/29 – 3
7/28 – 1
7/27 – 1
7/26 – 1
7/25 – 1
7/23 – 2
7/22 – 6
7/21 – 3
7/20 – 7
7/19 – 2
7/18 – 5
7/16 – 2
7/15 – 4
7/14 – 2
7/13 – 4
7/12 – 2
7/11 – 1
7/10 – 1
7/8 – 2
7/7 – 1
7/3 – 1
7/2 – 1
6/20 – 1
6/12 – 1
5/10 – removed 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 7.71%. (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.)
In Alachua County, the official positivity rate yesterday was 4.8%.
The University of Florida did not report new results today.
According to the daily report, there are 3,623 cases in Gainesville, 284 in Alachua, 202 in Newberry, 112 in High Springs, 80 in Archer, 78 in Hawthorne, 37 in Micanopy, 19 in Waldo, 13 in Santa Fe, 9 in LaCrosse, 9 in Tioga, 3 in Evinston, 2 in Earleton, 2 in Jonesville, 2 in “University of Fl.”. 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 65.1 through yesterday’s cases. Here is the 7-day average of new cases for 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.