COVID-19 update: Virus kills 3 more Manatee County residents. 48K fully vaccinated

Three more Manatee County residents have died from COVID-19, according to the Florida Department of Health, and another 111 people in Manatee County have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

They were among 5,773 new cases confirmed statewide on Thursday.

The state health department also recorded the deaths of 107 more Florida residents, including the deaths in Manatee, as well as two additional non-residents. Florida’s death toll during the pandemic now totals 33,589 people, including 632 non-residents.

Over thepast week, Florida recorded the second-most new cases of any state, behind only New York, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the fifth-most new COVID-19 deaths.

In Manatee County, local deaths now number 632, and the cumulative case count since testing began stands at 34,246.

The average local positivity rate for COVID-19 continues to rise.

Over the past week, an average of 6.6% of Manatee County test results were new positive cases, according to health department data. That compares to 5.8% the week prior and 5.7% a month ago.

More than 113,000 Manatee County residents have now received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the health department’s vaccine report. Of those residents 48,000 have completed vaccination.

Statewide, more than 5.3 million people have received at least a first dose of a vaccine, including over 2.9 million people that have completed vaccination.

Manatee County from Wednesday to Thursday

• Cases increased from 34,135 to 34,246.
  
  
• The death toll increased from 629 to 632.
  
  
• Resident hospitalizations since the outbreak increased from 1,416 to 1,419.
  
  

• Manatee County’s daily rate of new positive cases decreased from 5.8% to 5.4%.

• 1,355 cases (4% of all cases) and 192 deaths (30% of all deaths) were among residents and staff of long-term care facilities in Manatee.

• The official count of people vaccinated against COVID-19 increased from 110,744 to 113,802.
  
  
• 65,196 people have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 48,606 have been fully inoculated.
  
  

Florida from Wednesday to Thursday

• Cases increased from 2,021,656 to 2,027,429.
• The resident death toll rose from 32,850 to 32,957. The non-resident death toll rose from 630 to 632.
  
  

• Florida’s daily rate of new positive cases increased from 6% to 5.6%.

• The official count of people vaccinated against COVID-19 increased from 5,205,239 to 5,346,471.

• 2,427,208 people have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,919,263 have been fully inoculated.

Surrounding counties

• Sarasota County cases increased from 28,684 to 28,799. The death toll remained at 776.
  
  
• Pinellas County cases increased from 70,708 to 71,011. The death toll increased from 1,531 to 1,536.
  
  
• Hillsborough County cases increased from 118,911 to 119,339. The death toll increased from 1,582 to 1,587.
  
  
• Hardee County cases increased from 2,880 to 2,884. The death toll remained at 37.
  
  
• Desoto County cases increased from 4,007 to 4,017. The death toll increased from 80 to 81.

This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 4:07 PM.