August 18 update: 43 new positive tests, no new deaths
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 4,713 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 43 from yesterday, with an official test positivity rate of 4.6%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 32. No new deaths were reported.
Of the 43 people whose tests came back yesterday, 9 were 65 or older. (The chart shows 47; 4 were on previous dates.)
The weekly report on emergency room visits for COVID-like illness shows that 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.
231 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 15 after no increase in the previous 2 days; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 (which includes non-residents) increased from 128 to 132. 47 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 251 cases, an increase of 39 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 184 cases in long-term care (an increase of 25 from yesterday) and 66 cases in a correctional facility (an increase of 1 from yesterday).
Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 16.09%, and ICU capacity is 9.74%.
North Florida Regional has 7 ICU beds available (14.5% 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 128 to 132.
State COVID-19 hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, from 6,755 a week ago to 5,484 today.
The state has 579,932 cases (an increase of 3,838 from yesterday on 26,147 new test results) and 9,758 deaths (an increase of 219 from yesterday, 96 of which were from long-term care facilities).
Changes in the number of deaths were reported on 40 different dates, going back to June 19. The current peak is July 20 (184), with July 16 and July 25 close behind. Here are the actual dates of death:
8/17 – 12
8/16 – 21
8/15 – 31
8/14 – 20
8/13 – 14
8/12 – 7
8/11 – 4
8/10 – 16
8/9 – 4
8/8 – 3
8/7 – 3
8/6 – 3
8/5 – 3
8/4 – 3
8/3 – 2
8/2 – 1
8/1 – 3
7/31 – 2
7/30 – 1
7/29 – 3
7/27 – 1
7/26 – 2
7/25 – 5
7/24 – 4
7/23 – 3
7/22 – 11
7/21 – 4
7/20 – 5
7/19 – 3
7/18 – 3
7/17 – 2
7/16 – 6
7/15 – 2
7/14 – 5
7/12 – 1
7/11 – 1
7/10 – 2
7/7 – 1
7/3 – 1
6/18 – 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 7.91%. (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 4.6%.
The University of Florida did not update its testing information today.
According to the daily report, there are 3,759 cases in Gainesville, 300 in Alachua, 207 in Newberry, 117 in High Springs, 83 in Hawthorne, 80 in Archer, 38 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 66.6 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.