July 31 update: 78 new positive tests, 6 new hospitalizations, 1 new death

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 3,526 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 78 from yesterday on 775 test results with an official test positivity rate of 6.3%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is 31. 6 new hospitalizations were reported, and one new death was reported.

The new hospitalizations are a 73-year-old female who tested positive on July 30, a 72-year-old female who tested positive on July 29, an 80-year-old female who tested positive on July 29, a 56-year-old female who tested positive on July 25, a 50-year-old male who tested positive on July 24, and a 68-year-old male who tested positive on July 16.

The new death is the 50-year-old man above who tested positive on July 24. He first reported symptoms on July 21.

Of the 78 people whose tests came back yesterday, 11 were 65 or older (the chart shows 91 new cases because the state data doesn’t always match up):

A total of 21 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, July 7, July 8, July 9, July 13, and July 24.

147 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 6 from yesterday. 22 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 134 cases, an increase of 12 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 116 cases in long-term care (an increase of 3 from yesterday) and 25 cases in a correctional facility (no increase from yesterday).

Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 13.57%, and ICU capacity is 10.71%.

North Florida Regional has 6 ICU beds available (12.5% of capacity), and Shands has 27 available (10% of capacity). ICU beds are used for all intensive-care patients, not just COVID patients.

The state has 470,386 cases (an increase of 9,007 from yesterday on 49,200 new test results) and 6,843 deaths (an increase of 257 from yesterday, 65 of which were from long-term care facilities).

Here are the dates of the new deaths:

7/30 – 24
7/29 – 28
7/28 – 15
7/27 – 10
7/26 – 38
7/25 – 27
7/24 – 28
7/23 – 14
7/22 – 7
7/21 – 11
7/20 – 5
7/19 – 3
7/18 – 4
7/17 – 1
7/16 – 8
7/15 – 6
7/14 – 4
7/13 – 9
7/12 – 6
7/11 – 3
7/10 – 2
7/3 – 1
6/10 – 3

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 10.57%. (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.)

66,062 test results have come back so far in Alachua County (up 775 from yesterday). The official positivity rate yesterday was 6.3%.

The University of Florida has temporarily stopped reporting test data.

According to the daily report, there are 2,835 cases in Gainesville, 213 in Alachua, 148 in Newberry, 80 in High Springs, 66 in Archer, 57 in Hawthorne, 27 in Micanopy, 12 in Waldo, 10 in Santa Fe, 7 in Tioga, 7 in LaCrosse, 2 in Earleton, 2 in Jonesville, and 1 in Evinston. 6 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 80 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.