Biggest one-day spike in COVID-19 cases reported in Manatee. Also, four more deaths
The number of COVID-19 cases in Manatee County spiked on Thursday with new 30 new positive tests reported in the latest data released by the Florida Department of Health. It is the largest daily count of positive cases since the pandemic started.
The health department also reported that four more Manatee County residents had died from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 88. Statewide, the death toll now stands at 2,144.
In addition to local deaths, the latest 48 deaths were reported in Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Miami-Dade, Duval, Escambia, Okaloosa, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Volusia and Walton counties.
Unlike many recent deaths, the deaths in Manatee County announced Thursday were not connected to any long-term care facilities. More than 60 percent of the confirmed local COVID-19 deaths were residents or staffers at skilled nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
The latest local facilities to report positive cases of the fatal virus are The Nursing Center at Freedom Village, Villas of Holly Brook- Bradenton Cove and Westminster Manor of Bradenton. The data released by FDOH only accounts for current positives as reported by the facility the previous day.
There are now 933 people total who have tested positive in Manatee County for the novel coronavirus. Statewide, there were more than 1,200 new cases added to the state’s tally, which now stands at 48,675.
The spike comes as a backlog of results were released. Thursday’s data included nearly 1,400 new tests results.
In Sarasota County, there were 12 new cases reported, raising the county’s total of cases to 550. The death toll has risen to 67.
Hillsborough County had 64 new cases reported, tallying 1,767 total cases. The death toll remains at 64. In Pinellas County the death toll continues to rise with 73 people now having died from COVID-19. With 34 new cases, Pinellas now has a total of 1,109.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 12:10 PM.
