August 24 update: 31 new positive tests, no new deaths

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 4,981 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 31 from yesterday, with an official test positivity rate of 3.81%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 32. No new deaths were reported.

Of the 31 people whose tests came back yesterday, 7 were 65 or older. (The chart shows 32; 1 was on a previous date.)

The weekly report on emergency room visits for COVID-like illness shows that Alachua County continues downward, definitively meeting the criteria for 14-day declining ED visits:

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.

264 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 2 from yesterday; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 (which includes non-residents) remained at 121.

The website with current numbers of institutional care cases in Alachua County shows 198 cases, no change 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 200 cases in long-term care (no change in the past 2 days) and 84 cases in a correctional facility (no change in the past 2 days).

Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 16.95%, and ICU capacity is 9.74%.

North Florida Regional has 5 ICU beds available (10% of capacity), and Shands has 25 available (9.6% 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 remained at 121.

State COVID-19 hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, from 5,631 a week ago to 4,626 today.

The state has 602,829 cases (an increase of 2,258 from yesterday on 18,512 new test results) and 10,397 deaths (an increase of 72 from yesterday, 36 of which were from long-term care facilities).

Changes in the number of deaths were reported on 22 different dates, going back to July 20. (Sundays and Mondays are always low.) The current peak is still July 20 (184). Here are the actual dates of death:

8/23 – 5
8/22 – 2
8/21 – 6
8/20 – 4
8/19 – 4
8/17 – 3
8/16 – 2
8/15 – removed 1
8/14 – 10
8/13 – 5
8/12 – 7
8/11 – 11
8/10 – 1
8/9 – 2
8/8 – 4
8/4 – 1
8/3 – 1
8/2 – 1
7/31 – 1
7/28 – 1
7/24 – 1
7/20 – 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 5.2%. (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 3.81%.

The University of Florida reported zero new positives out of 6 new tests on students with or without symptoms.

According to the daily report, there are 3,966 cases in Gainesville, 318 in Alachua, 219 in Newberry, 123 in High Springs, 88 in Hawthorne, 85 in Archer, 42 in Micanopy, 20 in Waldo, 14 in Santa Fe, 11 in Tioga, 10 in LaCrosse, 3 in Evinston, 2 in Earleton, 2 in Jonesville, 2 in “University of Fl.”, and 1 in Island Grove. 13 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 45.1 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.