Three new COVID-19 deaths reported in Manatee County as pediatric cases near 1,000

Three more Manatee County residents have died from COVID-19 as the county added another 138 new cases on Saturday, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The local death toll since the coronavirus pandemic began in March has risen to 185, while the new cases brings the county’s total number of infected to 8,655.

Pediatric cases neared 1,000 as of Saturday with 997 cases. Children under the age of 18 are testing positive at a higher percentage rate than adults with a positivity rate of 13.9 percent. Out of 7,157 pediatric tests, 6,160 have tested negative.

Florida’s death toll took another big hit on Saturday with 179 new fatalities reported while the state added 9,642 new cases. The state’s death toll now stands at 7,022, with a total number of infections creeping toward a half million at 480,028 cases.

Hospitalizations took a big jump overnight in Manatee County with eight new hospitalizations since Friday. There have now been 542 hospitalizations since the onset of the pandemic.

The percentage of those testing positive compared to the number of tests administered remained stable at 10.8 percent, which is above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended positivity rate of 9 percent.

Florida’s positivity rate continues to climb, however. The positivity rate on Friday was 12.95 percent and it climbed to 13.03 percent as of Saturday.

Long-term care patients, who once made up the majority of the Manatee County’s cases early in the pandemic, now only represent 7 percent of the overall cases with 634 infections.

However, those over the age of 75 continue to be hit the hardest by the disease and represent 112 of the county’s total fatalities. There have been 60 local deaths between the ages of 55 and 74. Fatalities drop dramatically from there with eight deaths in the age group of 45 to 54 and five deaths in the age groups between 25 and 44.

There have been no deaths in Manatee County for those under the age of 24. However, the age group between 25 and 34 represent the highest number of overall cases with 1,532 infections.

Though the county’s positivity rate remains above the target set by the CDC, the positivity rate has remained below 9 percent for the five days of testing from July 26-31.

Manatee County cases from Friday to Saturday:

• Cases increased from 8,517 to 8,655.
• The death toll increased from 182 to 185.
• Hospitalizations since the onset of the pandemic increased from 534 to 542.
• The number of males infected is 3,982 compared to 4,425 females.
• The number of tests administered increased from 79,082 to 80,073.
• Manatee County’s positivity rate remained stable at 10.8 percent.

Florida cases from Friday to Saturday:

• The number of cases increased from 470,386 to 480,028.
• The death toll increased from 6,843 to 7,022.
• Florida’s positivity rate increased from 12.95 percent to 13.03 percent.

Surrounding counties:

• Sarasota County cases increased from 5,588 to 5,672. The death toll increased from 120 to 121.

• DeSoto County cases increased from 1,264 to 1,285. The death toll increased from 14 to 15.

• Hardee County cases increased from 833 to 841. The death toll remained at seven.

• Hillsborough County cases increased to 29,589. The death toll Increased from 335 to 341.

• Pinellas County cases increased from 16,356 to 16,604. The death toll increased from 432 to 437.