11 more cases of COVID-19 in Manatee County, raising total to more than 500

Another 11 people in Manatee County were among 689 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed statewide on Sunday, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Florida has now had 31,528 confirmed cases of the disease, including 508 in Manatee County.

An additional 19 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in Florida, bringing the state’s total deaths to 1,074 since the outbreak started.

The death toll remained at 42 in Manatee County.

People in Manatee County continue to test positive for the virus at a higher rate than people in surrounding counties and the state as a whole. The test positivity rate was 15.3 percent in Manatee as of Sunday morning, compared to 9.1 percent statewide.

Manatee County

Manatee County’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections since the outbreak started increased to 508 on Sunday, according to the state health department. The county saw a roughly 28 percent increase in cases in the past week as 880 more people were tested.

The rate at which people in Manatee County are testing positive for the virus decreased slightly over the past week from 17.1 percent to 15.3 percent as of Sunday morning. That compares to 7.6 percent in Sarasota County, 5.7 percent in Hillsborough and 5.3 percent in Pinellas.

A total of 3,325 people have now been tested in Manatee County.

Only two cases of non-residents testing positive for COVID-19 has been reported in Manatee County; the rest of the cases were among residents.

The age range of those infected is 2 to 98, with a median age of 58, according to the latest demographics data from the state.

Manatee County case numbers by age as of Sunday morning:

0-4 years old: 1 case

5-14 years old: 8 cases

15-24 years old: 21 cases

25-34 years old: 47 cases

35-44 years old: 62 cases

45-54 years old: 91 cases

55-64 years old: 66 cases

65-74 years old: 86 cases

75-84 years old: 91 cases

85+ years old: 35 cases

Of those who tested positive, 42 percent were male and 58 percent were female.

The death toll remains at 42 in Manatee County, and 130 people have required hospitalization, according to the state health department.

Outside of the South Florida counties of Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, Manatee County has had the most COVID-19 cases and deaths tied to long-term care facilities.

There are eight long-term care facilities in Manatee County that have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 in at least one resident or staff member, according to the state health department. As of Sunday, 179 cases of COVID-19 and 18 deaths were linked to long-term care facilities in Manatee County.

Sarasota County

Sarasota County’s total confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 321 on Sunday. Of those cases, 305 were found in residents and 16 were found in non-residents.

The age range of those infected is less than one year old to 102 years old.

Of those who tested positive in Sarasota County, 44 percent were male and 56 percent were female.

A total of 4,243 tests have been administered, with 7.6 percent of tests coming back positive.

The death toll remains at 32 in Sarasota County, and 114 people have required hospitalization.

Tampa Bay area

Hillsborough County has a total of 1,048 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date, the most of any county in the Tampa Bay area. Testing has been administered to more than 18,000 people, with about 5.7 percent of tests coming back positive. Twenty-one people with infections have died in Hillsborough County.

Pinellas County has had 687 cases confirmed. Testing has been administered to almost 13,000 people, with 5.3 percent testing positive. A total of 24 deaths have been reported in Pinellas County.

This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 11:59 AM.