March 17 COVID data update
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
[Editor’s note: This information is provided to put the COVID-19 data in context and show trends. We are presenting the data as reported by Florida Department of Health with the understanding that the data is messy, and each day’s update changes multiple previous days. We believe that individuals should have access to as much information as possible so they can make decisions about their risks; you can find our opinions about government actions in the COVID-19 category on the site.]
According to the state dashboard, Alachua County reported an increase of 20 positive COVID-19 tests today, with an official test positivity rate of 1.12%. The 7-day average positivity rate is 1.69%. Two new deaths were reported, and one was removed.
The new deaths:
- 63-year-old male with unknown emergency room visit and hospitalization; he tested positive on December 18
- 77-year-old male with unknown emergency room visit and hospitalization; he tested positive on February 11
The death that was removed was an 82-year-old man who tested positive on January 15.
None were in long-term care.
Of the people whose positive tests came back yesterday, 2 were 65 or older (this is the important number to track because those are the people who are more likely to have bad outcomes).
A total of 251 deaths have been reported in the county, 74 of which were in long-term care.
The overall number of people (from all counties) hospitalized here for COVID-19 decreased from 43 to 36 (a new record low since these numbers have been published). This is down from a peak of 256 on January 13.
State COVID-19 hospitalizations decreased from 3,052 to 2,988 today. This is down from a peak of 7,763 on January 13.
The state reported 4,599 new positive tests (official positivity rate of 5.57%) and a net increase of 55 deaths, none of which were from long-term care facilities.
Changes in deaths were reported on 29 different dates, going back to December 31.
Changes in the number of deaths by month: December (-1), January (+5), February (+15-2), March (+39-1)
The first-wave peak was on August 4 (240), and the 7-day moving average peak was August 5 (227). The second-wave peak so far is January 22 (210); the 7-day moving average peak is January 18 (194).
This chart uses different colors to show how the reported deaths stack up by date:
Here is the full chart for context:
The state also publishes a chart of the percentage of new tests that are positive by day (this chart is for the whole state), showing the trend over the past 14 days.
This chart shows the trend in positivity rate for Alachua County.
This chart shows the number of negative tests reported in Alachua County by day, which gives an idea of the volume of testing:
The 7-day moving average of new cases is at 25.3 through yesterday, down from a peak of 188.1 on January 11. Here is the 7-day average of new cases for the past 14 days:
The state has vaccinated a total of 4,464,035 people (2,496,435 have received the complete series of 2 doses or a single-dose vaccine). Vaccines were administered first to healthcare and front-line workers, with vaccines being rolled out to people 60 and older now, along with teachers, firefighters, and law enforcement 50 and older.
Alachua County has vaccinated a total of 59,395 people, about 22% of the population (43,769, over 16% of the population, have received the complete series).
This chart shows the percentage of the populations of Alachua County and Florida by age that have been vaccinated. About 71% of seniors in Alachua County have received at least one dose, and 57% of seniors in Alachua County have received both doses. By comparison, about 67% of the state’s seniors have received at least one dose, with 41% receiving both doses.
