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August 22 update: 54 new positive tests, no new deaths

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

According to the stateĀ dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 4,919 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 54 from yesterday, with an official test positivity rate of 2.6%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 32. No new deaths were reported.

Of the 54 people whose tests came back yesterday, 9 were 65 or older. (The chart shows 53; 1 was on a previous date.)

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 31 deaths have been reported in the county. Nine of the deaths were reportedly from one long-term care facility, Parklands Care Center, and five were from other long-term care facilities. The 31 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), July 27, August 2, August 4, and August 8.

262 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 8 from yesterday; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 (which includes non-residents) decreased from 120 to 116.

TheĀ websiteĀ with current numbers of institutional care cases in Alachua County shows 198 cases, a decrease of 4 from the previous report. The chart says, ā€œThe data is not cumulative but reflects the information available for current residents and staff with cases as of yesterdayā€™s date.ā€ (The top line shows totals for the state.)

TheĀ county reportĀ shows a cumulative total of 200 cases in long-term care (an increase of 2 from yesterday) and 84 cases in a correctional facility (a decrease of 1 from yesterday).

Available hospital bed capacityĀ in Alachua County is 15.07%, and ICU capacity is 5.19%.

North Florida Regional has 2 ICU beds available (4% of capacity), and Shands has 14 available (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 decreased from 120 to 116.

State COVID-19 hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, from 5,721 a week ago to 4,745 today.

The state has 597,597 cases (an increase of 4,311 from yesterday on 34,667 new test results) and 10,274 deaths (an increase of 106 from yesterday, 51 of which were from long-term care facilities).

Changes in the number of deaths were reported on 30 different dates, going back to May 15. The current peak is still July 20 (183). Here are the actual dates of death:

8/22 – 1
8/21 – 6
8/20 ā€“ 19
8/19 ā€“ 6
8/18 ā€“ 4
8/17 ā€“ 9
8/16 ā€“ 1
8/15 ā€“ 1
8/14 ā€“ 4
8/13 ā€“ 12
8/12 ā€“ 6
8/11 ā€“ 3
8/10 ā€“ 2
8/9 ā€“ 4
8/8 ā€“ 4
8/7 ā€“ 2
8/6 ā€“ 1
8/5 ā€“ 2
8/4 ā€“ 1
8/3 ā€“ 2
8/2 ā€“ 1
7/30 ā€“ 2
7/27 ā€“ 1
7/26 ā€“ 3
7/25 ā€“ 1
7/24 – 3
7/23 ā€“ 4
7/13 ā€“ 1
7/9 ā€“ 1
5/15 ā€“ removed 1

These are not totals by day; theyā€™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 yesterdayā€™s positive rate was 4.89%. (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 2.6%.

TheĀ University of FloridaĀ reported zero new positives out of 26 tests on faculty and staff, one positive out of 268 new tests on students with or without symptoms, and 2 new positives out of 9 tests at the Student Health Care Center.

According to theĀ daily report,Ā there are 3,920 cases in Gainesville, 312 in Alachua, 220 in Newberry, 120 in High Springs, 86 in Hawthorne, 85 in Archer, 41 in Micanopy, 19 in Waldo, 13 in Santa Fe, 11 in Tioga, 9 in LaCrosse, 3 in Evinston, 2 in Earleton, 2 in Jonesville, 2 in ā€œUniversity of Fl.ā€, and 1 in Island Grove. 11 cases are listed in the city of ā€œMissingā€ in Alachua County, 1 case is erroneously listed in ā€œWesley Chapelā€ in Alachua County, and 1 case is in ā€œUnkā€ in Alachua County. Location data is not available for all cases.

The 7-day moving average of new cases is at 54.4 through yesterdayā€™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.

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