COVID-19 kills 6 more people in Manatee County. Biggest one-day jump in local death toll
Six more people have died from COVID-19 in Manatee County, the largest one-day rise in the local death toll to date.
There are now 55 people who have died in Manatee County from the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Statewide, there were 50 new deaths announced by the Florida Department of Health on Thursday morning, bringing the death toll to 1,268. The additional deaths occurred in Broward, Charlotte, Miami-Dade, Hernando, Lake, Lee, Okaloosa, Orange, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties.
In Manatee County, there were 13 new cases of someone testing positive for the virus. A total of 580 people have tested positive in the county.
Statewide, there were nearly 500 new cases and the total of cases stands at 33,690.
A spike in Manatee County statistics is expected as local testing becomes more available.
The Florida Department of Health reopened their drive-thru testing facility at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto. As of Thursday, all the remaining appointment for the day and for Friday were booked.
The facility will open again next week from Wednesday thru Friday, again increasing capacity by taking up to 100 appointments per day. Anyone wishing to make an appointment needs to call 941-748-0747.
The National Guard will also be setting up a regional testing site at The Mall at University Town Center to serve in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
Manatee County’s positive rate remains high, with 15.4% of those tested having been found positive for the coronavirus. As part of the latest revamping of its interactive dashboard tracking cases in the state, Manatee County’s positive rate is identified as being above the target range.
But the state has not said what that target range is exactly.
There are 29 deaths connected to the six skilled nursing homes and three assisted living facilities in Manatee with confirmed cases of COVID-19. Paramedics were called out to these facilities six times on Wednesday for people meeting COVID-19 criteria, Manatee County EMS reported.
In Sarasota County, there were 352 total cases of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, 11.1% percent of those tested. The death toll in Sarasota County stands at 42.
Hillsborough County now has 1,124 total cases of people who have tested positive for the virus, or 5.5% of those tested. In Pinellas County, there are 729 cases of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, 5% of those tested.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 10:57 AM.
