August 7 update: 54 new positive tests, 4 new hospitalizations, 1 new death
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 4,006 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 54 from yesterday on 795 test results with an official test positivity rate of 3.3%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 31. 4 new hospitalizations were reported, and one new death was reported.
The new hospitalizations are a 77-year-old female who first tested positive on August 1, a 66-year-old male who first tested positive on July 22, a 70-year-old female who first tested positive on July 5, and a 57-year-old male who first tested positive on June 30.
The new death was an 87-year-old male who tested positive on July 9 and first reported symptoms on June 20. He was first reported hospitalized on July 12.
Of the 54 people whose tests came back yesterday, only 4 were 65 or older (the chart shows 57 new cases because 3 were on previous dates):
A total of 26 deaths have been reported in the county. Nine of the deaths were reportedly from one long-term care facility, Parklands Care Center, and two were from other long-term care facilities. The 20 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 22, and July 24 (2).
163 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 4 since yesterday. 16 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 168 cases, an increase of 10 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 132 cases in long-term care (no increase from yesterday) and 31 cases in a correctional facility (an increase of 1 from yesterday).
Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 14.73%, and ICU capacity is 12.34%.
North Florida Regional has 13 ICU beds available (27% 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 state has 518,075 cases (an increase of 7,686 from yesterday on 42,593 new test results) and 7,927 deaths (an increase of 180 from yesterday, 77 of which were from long-term care facilities).
The Deaths by Date page has not been updated 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 10.12%. (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.)
70,138 test results have come back so far in Alachua County (up 795 from yesterday). The official positivity rate yesterday was 3.3%.
The University of Florida is reporting that 25 out of 12,173 faculty and staff without symptoms tested positive, 38 out of 8,342 students without symptoms tested positive as part of UF’s “Screen, Test & Protect” program. 182 out of 867 students “with or without symptoms” tested positive at the Student Health Care Center. That’s a total positivity rate of 1.3%.
According to the daily report, there are 3,216 cases in Gainesville, 241 in Alachua, 173 in Newberry, 92 in High Springs, 71 in Archer, 66 in Hawthorne, 35 in Micanopy, 16 in Waldo, 11 in Santa Fe, 8 in LaCrosse, 8 in Tioga, 2 in Earleton, 2 in Jonesville, and 1 in Evinston. 8 cases are listed in the city of “Missing” in Alachua County, 1 case is erroneously listed in “Wesley Chapel” in Alachua County, 1 case is in “Unk” in Alachua County, and 1 case is in “Ocala” in Alachua County. Location data is not available for all cases.
The 7-day moving average of new cases is at 68.9 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.