Another COVID death and 129 new cases in Manatee County as Florida adds over 7,300

Another Manatee County resident has died from COVID-19, according to the Florida Department of Health, and 129 more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Manatee County.

They were among 7,391 new cases confirmed statewide on Sunday. The state health department also recorded the deaths of 77 more Florida residents due to COVID-19. The state’s resident death toll now stands at 21,212 people. The non-resident death toll in Florida remained at 302 on Sunday.

Over the last week, Florida recorded the third-most new COVID-19 infections and the sixth-most deaths of any state, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall, Florida ranks third for the number of total cases and fourth for the number of total COVID-19 deaths during the pandemic, according to the CDC.

Manatee County’s total case count during the pandemic now totals 21,406, and deaths number 410.

The average rate at which people are testing positive for the novel coronavirus for the first time in Manatee County has been trending upward since September, and it continued to increase this month. Over the last week, an average of 7.8% of Manatee County test results were new positive cases. That compares to 8.1% the week prior.

As of Sunday, the official count of people in Manatee County who had received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine was 967.

Manatee County from Saturday to Sunday

• Cases increased from 21,277 to 21,406. (1,235 new cases were recorded over the last week.)
• The death toll increased from 409 to 410. (It increased by six over the last week.)
• Resident hospitalizations since the outbreak increased from 1,065 to 1,070. (25 new hospitalizations were recorded over the last week.)
• Since the outbreak began, 9,752 males and 11,059 females have been infected, with 261 cases unidentified.
• Manatee County’s daily rate of new positive cases remained at 9%.
• 1,025 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 821 to 967.

Florida from Saturday to Sunday

• Cases increased from 1,264,588 to 1,271,979.
• The resident death toll rose from 21,135 to 21,212. The non-resident death toll remained at 302.
• Florida’s daily rate of new positive cases increased from 8% to 9.7%.
• The official count of people vaccinated against COVID-19 increased from 113,946 to 118,764.

Surrounding counties

• Sarasota County cases increased from 17,748 to 17,834. The death toll increased from 499 to 500.
• Pinellas County cases increased from 42,973 to 43,210. The death toll increased from 1,020 to 1,029.
• Hillsborough County cases increased from 73,980 to 74,368. The death toll remained at 1,058.
• Hardee County cases increased from 2,044 to 2,056. The death toll remained at 20.
• Desoto County cases increased from 2,835 to 2,839. The death toll remained at 52.

This story was originally published December 27, 2020 at 3:37 PM.