August 17 update: 41 new positive tests, one new long-term care death

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 4,670 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 41 from yesterday, with an official test positivity rate of 5.0%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 32. One new death in a long-term care facility was reported.

The new death is a 71-year-old female who was in a long-term care facility. She tested positive on August 8, and no contact tracing was done. The case line data says it is unknown whether she went to an emergency room or hospital.

Of the 41 people whose tests came back yesterday, 14 were 65 or older. (The chart shows 46; 5 were on previous dates.)

The weekly report on emergency room visits for COVID-like illness is out, and Alachua County has finally taken a real downward turn:

A total of 29 deaths have been reported in the county. Nine of the deaths were reportedly from one long-term care facility, Parklands Care Center, and three 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), August 2, and August 8.

216 people (total) have been hospitalized, no increase in the past 2 days; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 (which includes non-residents) increased from 126 to 128. 42 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 212 cases, a decrease of 1 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 159 cases in long-term care (an increase of 3 from yesterday) and 65 cases in a correctional facility (no change from yesterday).

Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 19.15%, and ICU capacity is 14.61%.

North Florida Regional has 13 ICU beds available (27% of capacity), and Shands has 32 available (12% 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 126 to 128.

State COVID-19 hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, from 6,951 a week ago to 5,631 today.

The state has 576,094 cases (an increase of 2,678 from yesterday on 20,264 new test results) and 9,539 deaths (an increase of 87 from yesterday, 36 of which were from long-term care facilities).

Changes in the number of deaths were reported on 25 different dates, going back to July 13. The current peak is July 20 (179). Here are the actual dates of death:

8/16 – 2
8/15 – 4
8/14 – 2
8/13 – 2
8/12 – 5
8/11 – 3
8/10 – 4
8/9 – 7
8/8 – 10
8/7 – 5
8/6 – 12
8/5 – 6
8/4 – 2
8/3 – 3
8/1 – 1
7/31 – 2
7/30 – 2
7/29 – 2
7/28 – 3
7/27 – 1
7/22 – removed 1
7/18 – 1
7/15 – 5
7/14 – 3
7/13 – 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 8.25%. (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 5.0%.

The University of Florida reported 2 positives out of 32 new tests for faculty and staff (without symptoms), 3 positives out of 430 new tests for students (without symptoms), and 2 positives out of 37 new tests for students “with or without symptoms” at the Student Health Care Center.

According to the daily report, there are 3,722 cases in Gainesville, 295 in Alachua, 206 in Newberry, 116 in High Springs, 85 in Hawthorne, 80 in Archer, 37 in Micanopy, 19 in Waldo, 13 in Santa Fe, 10 in Tioga, 9 in LaCrosse, 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 71.6 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.