Two Manatee County hospitals at capacity. State reports a record 132 new COVID-19 deaths
As cases continue to surge, two of Manatee County’s three general hospitals — Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center — were at capacity on Tuesday. Blake Medical Center was reporting 11 available beds, five of which were ICU beds.
Manatee County has 153 new coronavirus cases, according to the latest data from the Florida Department of Health released Tuesday. There also were a 132 new deaths among Florida residents reported, the highest daily count during the pandemic.
The official death toll now stands at 4,409 Florida residents. Another non-resident has also died in the state, raising that total to 105, from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. In Florida, non-residents who die are counted separately.
In Manatee County, there were no new deaths reported on Tuesday. The death toll stands at 140.
The three general hospitals in Manatee County have 133 beds available total, including nine ICU beds, according to Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. But the hospitals are only staffed for the 11 beds, including five intensive-care unit beds.
A lack of sufficient number of nurses, not just surging cases, is taking driving hospitals to capacity, a problem not exclusive to Manatee County.
As of Tuesday, there were still 110 patients currently admitted to one of Manatee County’s three general hospital who are positive for the coronavirus, according to data each hospital now provides county officials.
AHCA reported six new hospitalizations for a total of 95 on Tuesday, with the count representing patients whose primary reason for admission and treatment is COVID-19.
The breakdown among hospitals of COVID-19 cases and available beds is as follows:
- Manatee Memorial Hospital: Has 57 COVID-19 positive patients, no available non-ICU beds and no available ICU beds.
- Lakewood Ranch Medical Center: Has 27 COVID-19 positive patients, no available non-ICU beds and no available ICU beds.
- Blake Medical Center: Has 26 COVID-19 positive patients, six available non-ICU beds and five available ICU beds.
The new deaths reported across the state occurred in Brevard, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Miami-Dade, Duval, Hendry, Hernando, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Leon, Nassau, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Seminole counties.
In the region, Pinellas County alone had 26 new COVID-19 deaths reported.
Across the state, there were 9,914 new cases announced, making 291,629 people total who have been infected with the virus.
Manatee County’s tally of infections since the pandemic got underway is 5,419.
The 814 test results released in Manatee County on Tuesday had a 18.8% positivity rate. The overall positivty rate for all the tests completed locally is 9.4%.
The state’s overall positivity rate across the state is now 10.8%.
Surrounding counties:
- Sarasota County: Cases increased from 3,219 to 3,334. The death toll remained at 100.
- Desoto County cases increased from 886 to 951. The death toll remained at 11.
- Hardee County cases increased from 607 to 613. The death toll remained at four.
- Hillsborough County cases increased from 19,828 to 20,508. The death toll rose from 188 to 189.
- Pinellas County cases increased from 11,442 to 11,754. The death toll rose from 236 to 262.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 11:08 AM.
