State removes three residents from Manatee County’s COVID-19 death toll
The Florida Department of Health has removed three Manatee County residents from the official COVID-19 death toll.
The local death toll now stands at 574, down from 577 on Monday.
Throughout the pandemic, the state has refused to answer questions about why deaths are removed from the official death tolls.
Across Florida, the official death toll went up by 159 residents and two non-residents on Tuesday. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 30,065 residents and 530 non-residents confirmed killed by COVID-19, according to the state health department.
There were also 5,610 new cases of the coronavirus announced statewide on Tuesday. Infections in Florida now total 1,878,533.
In Manatee County, there were 141 new cases of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus. To date, there have been 31,314 people who have contracted the virus since the start of the pandemic.
Included in Tuesday’s data, were 131 local residents who have tested positive and had a median age of 44. The positivity rate rose to 7.4% on Tuesday, from 6.1% the previous day.
Statewide on Tuesday, 4,198 people were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 as a primary diagnosis and reason for admission, compared to 4,175 people on Monday, according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. Hospitalizations remain down by nearly 10% compared to a week ago.
In Manatee County, hospitalizations again increased on Tuesday with 53 patients admitted because of COVID-19, compared to 49 patients admitted on Monday.
Manatee County’s three general hospitals had 68 available beds, including eight ICU beds, according to AHCA which does account for whether those beds are adequately staffed.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 1,440,393 people who have been fully inoculated against COVID-19, according to the health department. Another 1,308,102 people in the state have received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In Manatee County, there have been 22,483 people fully inoculated and another 26,302 people who have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Surrounding counties
- Sarasota County cases increased from 26,573 to 26,622. The death toll rose from 718 to 725.
- Desoto County cases increased from 3,685 to 3,706. The death toll dropped from 73 to 72.
- Hardee County cases increased from 2,758 to 2,766. The death toll remained at 29.
- Hillsborough County cases increased from 109,174 to 109,527. The death toll rose from 1,455 to 1,465.
- Pinellas County cases increased from 65,191 to 65,375. The death toll rose from 1,429 to 1,430.
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 3:29 PM.
