September 30 update: 63 new positive tests, 4 deaths

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

According to the state dashboard, Alachua County has a cumulative total of 8,293 people with COVID-19-positive test results, an increase of 63 from yesterday, with an official test positivity rate of 6.59%. The median age of positive tests (overall) in Alachua County is at 27 after 26 straight days of high numbers of positive results in the 15-24 age group. 4 new deaths were reported.

The new deaths are a 91-year-old male who both visited an emergency room and was hospitalized, with a positive test date of August 27; a 66-year-old male who did not visit an emergency room, was not hospitalized, and tested positive on August 22; a 74-year-old female who did not visit an emergency room, was not hospitalized, and tested positive on August 15; and a 48-year-old male with “unknown” for both emergency room and hospitalization and tested positive on August 5. 3 of the 4 were in long-term care.

Of the people whose positive tests came back yesterday, 6 were 65 or older, and 24 (41%) were college-aged.

Alachua County Public Schools now has a dashboard for positive tests in the school system. The section for active cases shows 1 student each at Irby Elementary, Newberry Elementary, Parker Elementary, Wiles Elementary, Oak View Middle, Eastside High, and Santa Fe High; 2 students at Gainesville High; 3 students at Buchholz High; 5 students at Howard Bishop Middle; 14 students at Newberry High; 1 staff each at Hidden Oak Elementary, High Springs Community, Littlewood Elementary, Newberry Elementary, Norton Elementary, Talbot Elementary, Buchholz High, Gainesville High, and the District Office; and 2 staff at Newberry High and in Transportation.

The weekly report on emergency room visits for COVID-like illness and influenza-like illness shows that we are seeing a slight uptick in visits for COVID-like illness and a sharp increase in visits for influenza-like illness.

A total of 60 deaths have been reported in the county, 23 of which were in long-term care. 10 of the deaths were reportedly from Parklands Care Center, 3 at North Florida Rehabilitation and Specialty Care, 2 at Hunter’s Crossing Place-Assisted Living, 2 at Tacachale (1 resident, 1 staff), 1 at Oak Hammock, 1 at Plantation Oaks Senior Living Residence, 1 at Signature Healthcare, and 1 at Windsor of Gainesville. The 60 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 9, June 23, June 28, June 29, July 1, July 6 (2), July 7, July 8, July 9 (2), July 13, July 16, July 20, July 21, July 22, July 24 (3), July 27, July 29, August 2, August 4 (2), August 5 (2), August 8 (2), August 10 (2), August 11, August 12, August 13, August 14, August 15 (3), August 16, August 17, August 20, August 21, August 22, August 24 (3), August 27 (2), and September 2.

412 people (total) have been hospitalized, an increase of 6 from the previous count; the total hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 (which includes non-residents) is 61, down 15 from yesterday.

The website with current numbers of institutional care cases in Alachua County shows 160 cases, down 4 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 331 cases in long-term care (up 1 from yesterday) and 162 cases in a correctional facility (up 1 from yesterday).

Available hospital bed capacity in Alachua County is 13.41%, and ICU capacity is 7.47%.

North Florida Regional has 2 ICU beds available (4% of capacity), and Shands has 21 available (8% 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 76 to 61.

State COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped from 2,254 a week ago to 2,085 today.

The state has 706,516 cases (an increase of 1,948 from yesterday, 17% of which were in the 15-24 age group) and 14,315 deaths (a net increase of 172 from yesterday, 67 of which was from long-term care facilities).

Changes in the number of deaths were reported on 59 different dates, going back to May 9.

The peaks are on July 23 (217), July 30 (215), and August 4 (218), and the 7-day moving average peak is July 25 (206), with a second peak on August 5 (208).

The peak of July 25 hasn’t moved since we started reporting it on August 27. The 2nd peak appeared on September 11, and it hasn’t moved, either.

Here are the actual dates of death:

9/30 – 1
9/29 – 2
9/28 – 7
9/27 – 4
9/26 – 1
9/25 – 8
9/23 – 2
9/22 – 3
9/21 – 5
9/20 – 2
9/18 – 4
9/17 – 8
9/16 – 1
9/15 – 4
9/14 – 1
9/13 – 2
9/12 – 1
9/11 – 2
9/10 – 3
9/9 – 6
9/8 – 1
9/7 – 5
9/6 – 5
9/5 – 1
9/4 – 4
9/3 – 1
9/2 – 2
9/1 – 2
8/31 – 2
8/30 – 3
8/29 – 1
8/28 – 1
8/27 – 2
8/26 – 1
8/25 – 3
8/24 – 4
8/23 – 2
8/21 – 2
8/20 – 5
8/19 – 4
8/18 – 5
8/17 – 3
8/16 – 6
8/15 – 4
8/14 – 3
8/12 – 2
8/11 – 1
8/9 – 3
8/7 – 2
8/6 – 1
8/5 – 1
8/4 – 3
8/3 – 1
8/1 – 1
7/30 – 1
7/29 – 3
7/28 – 3
7/27 – 2
7/26 – 2
7/25 – 3
7/24 – 1
7/23 – 3
7/21 – 2
7/20 – 2
7/19 – 1
7/16 – removed 1
7/5 – removed 1
4/15 – removed 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 5.03%. (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 6.59%.

This chart shows the number of negative tests reported in Alachua County by day:

The University of Florida reported no new tests on faculty and staff, no new tests on students (without symptoms), and 2 positives out of 13 new tests on students (with or without symptoms) at the Student Health Care Center.

According to the daily report, there are 6,803 cases in Gainesville, 410 in Alachua, 316 in Newberry, 181 in High Springs, 117 in Archer, 105 in Hawthorne, 51 in “University of Fl.”, 49 in Micanopy, 38 in Waldo, 16 in Santa Fe, 15 in Tioga, 12 in LaCrosse, 8 in Earleton, 7 in “Univ of Fl Student Dorms,” 6 in Evinston, 2 in Jonesville, and 1 in Island Grove. 72 cases are listed with the city “Missing” in Alachua County, 1 case is erroneously listed in “Wesley Chapel” in Alachua County, 1 case is in “Garden City,” 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 75.9 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.