Manatee resident among 120 new COVID deaths as county cases run past 9,000
A Manatee County resident is among the 120 COVID-19 deaths confirmed on Thursday in data released by the Florida Department of Health. The county now has more than 9,000 cases since the pandemic began.
As of Thursday, the official local death toll was 189. Statewide, there have been 7,747 residents who have died from the respiratory illness since the onset of the pandemic.
A 75-year-old woman is the latest victim to die from COVID-19 in Manatee County and is connected to a local long-term care facility. Her case was officially counted on July 21, according to the state’s data.
In Manatee County, 112 new cases of people testing positive for the coronavirus also were reported on Thursday. Cases now total 9,050 in the county.
A total of 7,650 new infections were reported across the state. Florida’s tally of cases is now 510,389.
The 810 new tests results released locally on Thursday had a positivity rate of 13.8% — still above the target range and indicating that the virus is still spreading through the community.
Overall positivity rates remained fairly steady on Thursday: 10.9% in Manatee County and 13.2 statewide. Thursday saw the first increase in the number of test results, which had dropped significantly after state-run testing sites had to shut down a week ago ahead of Hurricane Isaias.
Hospitalizations
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 patients have continued to drop all week. On Thursday, there were 92 patients admitted to one of Manatee County’s three general hospitals who were positive for the coronavirus. Of those, 15 required intensive care.
According to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, 81 patients were in Manatee County hospitals for whom COVID-19 was a primary reason for admission.
Hospital beds, especially non-ICU, have also begun opening up. On Thursday, the three hospitals had 66 available beds, including nine ICU beds.
The breakdown among hospitals of COVID-19 cases and available beds was:
- Manatee Memorial Hospital: 43 COVID-19 positive patients, 5 of whom are in ICU, nine available non-ICU beds and no available ICU beds.
- Lakewood Ranch Medical Center: 10 COVID-19 positive patients, one of whom are in ICU, 19 available non-ICU beds and five available ICU beds.
- Blake Medical Center: 39 COVID-19 positive patients, 9 of whom are in ICU and 29 available non-ICU beds and four available ICU beds.
Despite having only nine available non-ICU beds and no ICU beds on Thursday, the hospital announced that it would be resuming elective surgeries and procedures.
Patients who are positive for the coronavirus make up about 15% of all inpatients at the three hospitals on Thursday.
Surrounding counties
- Sarasota County cases increased from 5,940 to 6,025. The death toll rose from 129 to 130.
- DeSoto County cases increased from 1,313 to 1,321. The death toll remained 16.
- Hardee County cases increased from 866 to 890. The death toll remained at seven.
- Hillsborough County cases increased from 31,197 to 31,563. The death toll rose from 377 to 378.
- Pinellas County cases increased from 17,202 to 17,358. The death toll rose from 467 to 469.
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM.
