COVID update for Thursday: Hospitalizations decline, 99 new cases in Manatee County
Hospitalizations continue to decline as 99 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Manatee County on Thursday.
Locally infections now total 38,640 in Manatee County, according to the latest data from the Florida Department of Health.
Across Florida 4,504 new COVID cases cases were reported. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 2,258,433 cases in Florida.
The deaths of 71 residents and two non-residents from COVID-19 in the state were also recorded on Thursday. The fatal respiratory disease has caused the death of 35,549 residents and 708 non-residents in Florida.
Manatee County’s official death toll of residents killed by COVID-19 remained at 671.
Hospitalizations
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 remain on the decline across Florida, down almost 10% statewide compared to a week ago. On Thursday, there were 2,915 people admitted to hospitals across the state with COVID-19 as a primary diagnosis or reason for admission, according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration.
In Manatee County, hospitalizations have dropped 28% compared to a week ago. On Thursday, there were 28 patients admitted to local hospitals because of COVID-19.
The county’s three general hospitals, Blake Medical Center, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and Manatee Memorial Hospital, had 64 available beds on Thursday, including six ICU beds.
Positivity rates
Of the test results processed by the state health department on Wednesday, there were 105 Manatee County residents who tested positive for the coronavirus and were a median age of 32 years old, according the department’s daily COVID-19 county-by-county report. The daily positivity rate of tests processed Wednesday was 5.4%, a decrease compared to a 7% rate the previous day.
Statewide, the median age for those test results of residents who tested positive was 39 years old. The daily positivity rate dropped to 5% from 5.1% the previous day.
Vaccines
Less than 43% of Manatee County residents, 172,771 people, have received at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the state health department’s daily vaccine reports. About 32% of local residents, 129,890 people, have been fully vaccinated.
In Florida, there have been 9,101,152 people who have received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 6,663,786 people have been fully vaccinated.
Surrounding counties
- Sarasota County cases increased from 32,666 to 32,748. The death toll remained at 820.
- Desoto County cases increased from 4,324 to 4,334. The death toll remained at 93.
- Hardee County cases increased from 3,132 to 3,134. The death toll remained at 43.
- Hillsborough County cases increased from 136,897 to 137,314. The death toll rose from 1,725 to 1,732.
- Pinellas County cases increased from 79,355 to 79,544. The death toll rose from 1,619 to 1,623.
