Manatee County adds 125 COVID-19 cases as Florida sees a spike of new infections

Another 125 Manatee County residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the latest data from the Florida Department of Health.

Statewide, another 6,820 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Sunday. It was the highest number of new cases for Florida since Aug. 12, excluding a dump of backlogged cases that occurred on Sept. 1. Florida has now had eight consecutive days with more than 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 reported.

The state health department also reported another 21 resident deaths and two non-resident deaths, bringing Florida’s death toll during the pandemic to 17,121 residents and 212 non-residents.

Manatee County has now had 14,114 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since testing began. The local death toll remained at 334 on Sunday.

The percentage of Manatee County test results coming back positive was higher on average in October than September. And over the last two weeks, there have been several days with spikes in positivity.

Percent positivity for new cases ranged from 3.6% to 8.2% over the last week, and an average of 5.8% of tests were positive. The week prior, positivity ranged from 3.7% to 9.8%, and an average of 6.1% of tests were positive.

The health department measures percent positivity for new daily cases by taking the number of people who test positive for the first time and dividing it by the number of people tested that day, excluding those who had previously tested positive.

Manatee County from Saturday to Sunday:

• Cases increased from 13,989 to 14,114. (564 new cases were recorded over the last week.)
  
  
• The death toll remained at 334. (It increased by four over the last week.)
  
  
• Resident hospitalizations since the outbreak increased from 907 to 909.
  
  
• Since the outbreak began, 6,468 males and 7,348 females have been infected, with 144 cases unidentified.
  
  
• Manatee County’s rate of new positive cases was 5.7% on Sunday.
  
  
• 890 cases (6% of all cases) and 141 deaths were among residents and staff of long-term care facilities in Manatee.

Florida from Saturday to Sunday:

• Cases increased from 837,077 to 843,897.
• The resident death toll rose from 17,100 to 17,121. The non-resident death toll increased from 210 to 212.
  
  
• Florida’s rate of new positive cases was 6.2% on Sunday.

Surrounding counties:

• Sarasota County: Cases increased from 10,312 to 10,429. The death toll remained at 351.
• Pinellas County: Cases increased from 27,372 to 27,675. The death toll remained at 831.
• Hillsborough County: Cases increased from 50,380 to 50,790. The death toll increased from 836 to 842.
• Hardee County: Cases increased from 1,645 to 1,654. The death toll remained at 17.
• Desoto County: Cases increased from 1,717 to 1,725. The death toll remained at 30.