June 22 update: 22 new positive tests, one new hospitalization
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 738 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 22 from yesterday on 348 test results for a test positivity rate of 6.3%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County has rapidly dropped from 47 to 32.
This graph is for Alachua County:
Paul Myers from the Department of Health said the important thing is that the new cases have not led to an increase in hospitalizations. The new cases include household members of previous positive cases and students who were sick in May. Myers said that those who were sick in May have recovered and are not contagious, but the tests can still detect inactive virus. Because the dead/inactive virus can be present for so long, the new standard in health care situations is that people who test positive for COVID-19 can return to work 14 days after their last symptom (the WHO announced yesterday that they’re now recommending only 3 days after symptoms); the previous standard of 2 negative tests was unnecessarily keeping people out of work because it was picking up inactive virus for a long time after recovery.
A total of eleven deaths have been reported in the county. Nine of the deaths were reportedly from one long-term care facility, Parklands Care Center. The 11 deaths were first reported as positive cases on April 9 (4), April 18 (2), April 20, April 21, April 23, May 10, and May 12.
87 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of one from yesterday. Note that hospitalizations are not necessarily people who seek care for COVID; everyone who is admitted to the hospital for any reason is now tested. The Alachua County Health Department typically reports a higher number that includes non-residents, which are not shown on the dashboard.
The website with current numbers of long-term care cases in Alachua County shows 72 cases, no change from the last report. 58 of the cases are from Parklands Care Center. 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 72 cases in long-term care (no change from the last report) and 2 cases in a correctional facility (I’ve been told that both of these are related to correctional facilities in other counties).
Available bed capacity in Alachua County is 20.93%. You may have seen stories about hospital capacity around the state, tying the increased number of patients to COVID. The truth is that the increased number of patients is from elective procedures that were delayed during the pandemic.
The state has 100,217 cases (an increase of 2,926 from yesterday on 18,205 new test results for a positive rate of 16%) and 3,173 deaths (an increase of 11 from yesterday, 9 of which were from long-term care facilities).
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 7.74%. (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.)
Dade County has 26% of the state’s cases. Broward has 11%; Palm Beach 11%; Hillsborough has 6%; Orange has 5%, and Lee has 4%. Alachua County represents about 1.2% of the state’s population and 0.74% of the state’s cases.
35,659 test results have come back so far in Alachua County (up 348 from yesterday), and 34,912 tests have come back negative. Only 2.1% of the local tests have come back positive so far, and 22 tests came back positive since yesterday’s report, for a positive test rate of 6.3%.
Here is the official graph for Alachua County:
Also, here is the graph for the percentage of emergency department visits for cough, fever, and shortness of breath (normal baseline is around 2%):
According to the daily report, there are 600 cases in Gainesville, 34 in Alachua, 29 in Newberry, 14 in High Springs, 8 in Hawthorne, 8 in Archer, 7 in Waldo, 4 in Tioga, 4 in Micanopy, 2 in Santa Fe, and 1 in LaCrosse. 4 cases are listed in the city of “Missing” in Alachua County. Location data is not available for all cases.
The 7-day moving average of new cases is at 25.7 through yesterday’s cases. Here is the 7-day average of new cases for the past 14 days.
Cases by zip code
I’m not going to type out the cases by zip code any more. If you’re interested, you can find them on the “Cases by Zip Code” tab of the dashboard.
Testing information
Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing
The Florida Department of Health in Alachua County (DOH-Alachua) is offering evening drive-thru COVID-19 testing on Wednesdays, from 4-7 p.m. This is in addition to their regular testing schedule. 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.