Two more Manatee residents dead from COVID as county confirms 199 new cases

Two more Manatee County residents have died from COVID-19, according to the Florida Department of Health, and another 199 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Manatee County.

They were among 11,384 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed statewide on Wednesday.

The state health department also reported the deaths of 120 more Florida residents and one more non-resident from the disease. Florida’s death toll during the pandemic now totals 20,874 residents and 299 non-residents.

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, the state health department’s official count of COVID-19 vaccinations in Manatee County was at 122. However, the state’s tally appears to be lagging significantly behind the actual count, as more than 200 front-line health care workers in Manatee County received vaccinations on Tuesday.

Manatee Memorial Hospital and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center received doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday and began to distribute it to staff, and Blake Medical Center was slated to begin vaccinations on Thursday.

Medical workers and long-term care facility residents are receiving the first round of vaccinations in Florida, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has prioritized the state’s elderly as next in line.

Manatee County from Tuesday to Wednesday

• Cases increased from 20,623 to 20,822.
  
  
• The death toll increased from 405 to 407.
  
  

• Resident hospitalizations since the outbreak increased from 1,048 to 1,052.

• Since the outbreak began, 9,486 males and 10,759 females have been infected, with 261 cases unidentified.

• Manatee County’s daily rate of new positive cases decreased from 8.4% to 7.8%.

• 1,011 cases (5% of all cases) and 152 deaths were among residents and staff of long-term care facilities in Manatee.

• The official count of people vaccinated against COVID-19 increased from 80 to 122.

Florida from Tuesday to Wednesday

• Cases increased from 1,223,015 to 1,234,399.
• The resident death toll rose from 20,754 to 20,874. The non-resident death toll rose from 298 to 299.
  
  

• Florida’s daily rate of new positive cases decreased from 8.8% to 8.6%.

• The official count of people vaccinated against COVID-19 increased from 49,932 to 68,133.

Surrounding counties

• Sarasota County cases increased from 17,110 to 17,299. The death toll was adjusted down, from 468 to 466.
  
  
• Pinellas County cases increased from 41,280 to 41,654. The death toll increased from 1,000 to 1,007.
• Hillsborough County cases increased from 71,388 to 71,957. The death toll increased from 1,038 to 1,046.
• Hardee County cases increased from 1,981 to 2,010. The death toll remained at 20.
• Desoto County cases increased from 2,758 to 2,791. The death toll remained at 51.