Eight more Manatee residents die from COVID-19. Total of 50 new deaths confirmed in 3 days
Eight Manatee County residents are among the 212 Floridians whose deaths from COVID-19 were confirmed Wednesday by the Florida Department of Health.
The official death toll of Florida residents killed by the deadly respiratory disease now stands at 8,765. Another non-resident has also reported to have died from COVID-19, making a total 133 additional deaths in the state.
In Manatee County, there have been a total of 242 residents confirmed to have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic got underway.
Fifty of those deaths have been reported since Monday, coming a week after a spike in deaths, according to Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Russell Vega.
The health department also reported 8,109 new coronavirus infections across the state. A total of 550,901 people have been infected in Florida since March.
Manatee County had 73 new positive cases as of Wednesday. A total of 9,468 people have tested positive in Manatee County.
The latest 556 test results released locally had a postivity rate of 13.1%. Manatee County’s overall positivity rate for tests remains at 10.9% where it has hovered all month long. Statewide, the overall positivity rate for the tests results released Wednesday is 13.5%.
When someone tests positive, the health department only counts one positive test for that individual. An individual can test negative multiple times, however, and the health department counts each of those negative tests separately.
The latest residents confirmed to have died because of COVID-19 were a 76-year-old man, an 85-year-old man, a 96-year-old woman, a 78-year-old woman, a 91-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman, a 91-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man. Only two of the eight either lived or worked at a local long-term care facility.
Bed availability remains issue
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 have continued to tick down for the second week in a row.
As of Wednesday morning, there were a total of 80 patients admitted to one of the county’s three general hospitals who were positive for the coronavirus, according to data reported by each hospital to county’s emergency management officials each morning. Sixteen of those patients were receiving intensive care.
According to the data reported by the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration, 71 patients in Manatee County were admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 as a primary reason for admission.
Although COVID-19 hospitalizations have decreased, bed availability has began to dwindle again in the past couple days. On Wednesday morning, Manatee Memorial Hospital was at capacity, with five patients in the emergency room who had been admitted but were waiting for a bed to become available.
A total of 22 beds, including nine ICU beds, were staffed and available at the remaining two hospitals, Blake Medical Center and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.
The breakdown among hospitals of COVID-19 cases and availability as of Wednesday morning was:
- Manatee Memorial Hospital: 36 COVID-19 positive patients, four of whom were in ICU, no available beds, 15 available negative pressure rooms and 14 available ventilators.
- Lakewood Ranch Medical Center: eight COVID-19 positive patients, two of whom are in ICU, six available non-ICU beds, two available ICU beds, 11 available negative pressure rooms and nine available ventilators.
- Blake Medical Center: 36 COVID-19 positive patients, 10 of whom are in ICU and seven available non-ICU beds, seven available ICU beds, 12 available negative pressure rooms and nine available ventilators.
The three hospitals were also treating an additional 27 presumptive positive patients on Wednesday morning.
Since Tuesday morning, the three hospitals had discharged a total of 10 patients to their homes who were still positive for the coronavirus but no longer required hospitalization. Additionally, a total of 20 patients among the three hospitals were awaiting to be discharged back to a long-term care facility. Many of those were waiting for their first or second negative test.
Surrounding counties
- Sarasota County cases increased from 6,314 to 6,394. The death toll increased from 162 to 166.
- DeSoto County cases increases from 1,377 to 1,382. The death toll remained at 18.
- Hardee County cases increased from 986 to 992. The death toll rose from seven to eight.
- Hillsborough County cases increased from 32,996 to 33,198. The death toll rose from 395 to 426.
- Pinellas County cases increased from 18,103 to 18,217. The death toll rose from 513 to 522.
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 11:03 AM.
