Coronavirus updates: Here’s what to know in Bradenton and Manatee County on Sept. 2
The latest on the COVID-19 pandemic in Bradenton and Manatee County.
Two more deaths reported in Manatee County as state dumps Quest labs
Two more Manatee County residents have died from COVID-19, raising the total death toll to 260, according to the Florida Department of Health. There were 64 new infections reported in the county.
The state said Tuesday’s increase in cases is due largely to a data dump from Quest Diagnostics and does not reflect the current decline in cases.
Twenty of the positive cases reported Tuesday in Manatee County were backlogged cases, according to data provided to county officials.
State officials learned Monday night that Quest Diagnostics released about 75,000 backlogged test results. Up until late July, Quest had processed tests taken at the Home Depot testing site on Cortez Road in Bradenton.
Gov. Ron DeSantis immediately ordered the Florida Department of Health to sever ties with Quest, noting that some of the results were from as far back as April.
The 64 new infections reported Tuesday bring the county’s total to 10,490, including 109 non-residents.
Palmetto High sends more than 100 people home after COVID-19 case
Classrooms full of students were sent home from Palmetto High School after a teacher tested positive for COVID-19.
In a message to families on Monday evening, Palmetto High reported “a case of COVID-19” and “direct exposures” to the infected person. On Tuesday morning, the Bradenton Herald received several unverified reports that Palmetto High School had upwards of 100 possible exposures.
A reporter asked for the exact number of exposures, and after more than four hours, the district would only confirm that an “abnormal number of students” were quarantined. The Bradenton Herald then reached out to Scott Hopes, a school board member and epidemiologist.
Hopes said it was his understanding that more than 100 people were quarantined after possibly being exposed to a COVID-19 case at the school.
Carson Friend, a 10th-grade student at Palmetto High, said he knew of more than 80 people who were sent home on Monday.
“Some of the staff were saying it,” Friendly said. “A lot of the kids were saying it.”
“It was a little strange,” he continued, describing a scene that unfolded on Monday. “Nobody really knew what was going on at the time. They started calling everybody down to the auditorium. The teachers were coming in with papers and listing off kids. They didn’t really tell us what happened. We don’t really know. They just kind of left. Then I was texting some of my friends and they said, ‘Ya, we all went to the auditorium and they told us we’ve been exposed to the coronavirus. There was a teacher that had it.’”
Palmetto pastor drops anti-mask lawsuit
Now that the Manatee County Commission has resolved his main concern, a local pastor is dropping his lawsuit against Manatee County over the COVID-19 mask mandate.
Rev. Joel Tillis, senior pastor at Suncoast Baptist Church, 1816 10th St. W., Palmetto, first announced legal action against the county at the end of July, citing an undue burden on churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious temples. Less than a month later, on Aug. 25, the Board of County Commissioners voted 6-1 to exempt houses of worship from mask requirements.
“I am thankful for the Board’s willingness to re-visit this matter and listen to the needs of the houses of worship in their community,” Tillis wrote in an email to the board Tuesday afternoon. “I’m glad it did not have to come to a trial and we can put this matter to rest.”
Read more here.
Among the places you can get tested for the novel coronavirus are:
A drive-thru site near The Mall at University Town Center, in the parking lot east of Dillard’s, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or until the site uses all of its test equipment for the day.
A walk-up site at Home Depot, 2350 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.or until the site uses all of its test equipment for the day.
A walk-up site at Lincoln Park, 501 17th St. E., Palmetto, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.or until the site uses all of its test equipment for the day. Antibody testing, which requires the drawing of blood, also is available at this location.
FOOD PANTRIES IN MANATEE COUNTY
As COVID-19 has ravaged Manatee County and employers have shedded jobs, food security has become a bigger issue for many residents.
Manatee County government has released a list of food pantries in the county where residents can obtain free food and other assistance.
Read it here.
NEED A JOB? LOOK HERE
Employers can post jobs while workers displaced by the coronavirus pandemic can search for them at jobfocus.com, a service hosted by the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.
Also, here is a link to more information about applying for unemployment benefits in Florida.
BRADENTON RESTAURANTS OFFERING TAKE-HOME AND DELIVERY SERVICES
The Bradenton Herald has published a list of restaurants offering take out and/or delivery services during the coronavirus pandemic.
Also, feel free to leave the names, addresses and phone numbers of other restaurants, either as a comment on our Facebook page or on the page for the Manatee Eats group.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM.