Two Manatee County women among newest COVID-19 cases. More than 1,200 cases in Florida
Two Manatee County women are among the newest 270 cases of COVID-19 announced on Monday by the Florida Department of Health.
There are now 1,227 total cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, in Florida. Of those cases, 1,147 are Florida residents.
A total of 18 people have now died because of COVID-19 in Florida, including a 70-year-old man who died at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center on March 16.
Manatee County now has 15 residents who have tested positive for this coronavirus. The latest cases are a 64-year-old woman and a 75-year-old woman. The health department does not yet know if either of the newly-diagnosed women traveled before they contracted the coronavirus. Eight of those who have tested positive have had been in contact with someone else who has tested positive.
Four people in Sarasota County are among the newest 270 cases, raising the total of cases in Sarasota County to 21.
Hillsborough County now has a total of 75 cases, the highest in the Tampa Bay area, and has tested 1,255 people. Pinellas County now has 41 total cases with 626 people having been tested so far.
The coronavirus has begun to spread into more rural areas in Florida, with a 32-year-old Arcadia man being the first positive case reported in DeSoto County on Sunday evening. Hardee County has not had any positive cases of the coronavirus.
As of Monday afternoon, there have been 135 Manatee County residents tested for COVID-19, with 11 percent of those testing positive. There are only seven of those testing that are pending.
Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center are among the growing number of local labs in the state who are now testing for the new coronavirus. Of 11 patients that Lakewood Ranch Medical Center has tested, three of them have tested positive. All six patients that Manatee Memorial Hospital has tested have tested negative.
A breakdown of residency has been provided for 12 of Manatee County’s 15 cases. Of those, six people live in Bradenton, two people live in Lakewood Ranch, three people live in northern Longboat Key and one person lives in Parrish.
In Sarasota County, there have been 421 people tested for the new coronavirus. In addition to the 21 that have tested positive, there are 82 tests that are pending. Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Doctors Hospital are among the labs now testing for the new coronavirus.
As of Monday afternoon, two new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in patients at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. To date, 12 positive cases have been identified out of 298 tests conducted. Eight of the patients remain hospitalized, and the other four have been discharged.
Among the 21 Sarasota County residents who have tested positive, seven of them live in Sarasota, one lives in Englewood, one lives in Venice and one lives in southern Longboat Key.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 11:23 AM.
