August 31 update: 3 new positive tests, no new deaths
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 5,196 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 3 from yesterday, with an official test positivity rate of 1.77%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 33. No new deaths were reported.
Of the 3 people whose positive tests came back yesterday, 0 were 65 or older (the chart shows 5; 2 were on previous dates).
Alachua County Public Schools now has a dashboard for positive tests in the school system. It currently shows 4 staff and 1 student positive tests in elementary schools, no positive tests in middle schools or high schools, and 1 positive test in district office staff.
The weekly report on emergency room visits for COVID-like illness shows that Alachua County continues downward (less than 50 people went to the ER for COVID-like illness between 8/17 and 8/23), definitively meeting the criteria for 14-day declining ED visits:
A total of 33 deaths have been reported in the county, 15 of which were in long-term care. Nine of the deaths were reportedly from one long-term care facility, Parklands Care Center, and 6 were from other long-term care facilities. The 33 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, August 8, August 10, and August 21.
309 people (total) have been hospitalized, no change in the past 2 days; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 (which includes non-residents) decreased from 91 to 86.
The website with current numbers of institutional care cases in Alachua County has not been updated today but shows 153 cases, a decrease of 19 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 263 cases in long-term care (no change in the past 2 days) and 94 cases in a correctional facility (no change in the past 3 days).
Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 16.86%, and ICU capacity is 8.77%.
North Florida Regional has 5 ICU beds available (10.4% of capacity), and Shands has 22 available (8.5% 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 91 to 86.
State COVID-19 hospitalizations are dropping dramatically, from 4,626 a week ago to 3,736 today.
The state has 623,471 cases (an increase of 1,885 from yesterday, the lowest since June 15, on 15,984 new test results) and 11,187 deaths (an increase of 86 from yesterday, 20 of which were from long-term care facilities).
Changes in the number of deaths were reported on 28 different dates, going back to July 19. The peak is July 23 (194), with the 7-day average peak at July 25 (189). Here are the actual dates of death:
8/30 – 3
8/29 – 4
8/28 – 5
8/27 – 3
8/26 – 6
8/25 – 4
8/24 – 2
8/23 – 3
8/22 – 1
8/21 – 2
8/20 – 2
8/19 – 1
8/17 – 3
8/16 – 2
8/15 – 5
8/14 – 1
8/13 – 6
8/12 – 3
8/11 – 3
8/10 – 3
8/9 – 1
8/8 – 1
8/5 – 1
8/2 – 1
7/29 – removed 1
7/23 – 1
7/21 – 1
7/19 – 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 5.52%. (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 1.77%.
This chart shows the number of negative tests reported in Alachua County by day:
The University of Florida reported zero positives out of 16 new tests on faculty and staff, zero positives out of 238 new tests on students without symptoms, and one positive out of 11 new tests on students with or without symptoms at the Student Health Care Center.
According to the daily report, there are 4,131 cases in Gainesville, 332 in Alachua, 233 in Newberry, 130 in High Springs, 90 in Archer, 89 in Hawthorne, 43 in Micanopy, 20 in Waldo, 14 in Santa Fe, 12 in Tioga, 10 in LaCrosse, 3 in Evinston, 2 in Earleton, 2 in Jonesville, 2 in “University of Fl.”, and 1 in Island Grove. 16 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 30.9 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.