The Florida Department of Health has added 132,622 COVID-19 cases (or about 18,946 per day) to its latest report, Feb. 4, for the week of January 28-Feb. 3. This brings the state’s total since March 2020 up to 5,610,000.370
DOH reported 198.719 new cases (or about 28,388 cases per day) for the week Jan. 21-27, and 289.204 new cases for Jan. 14-20, (or approximately 41,314 cases per day).
DOH reported 430 297 new cases from Jan. 7-13. This seems to be the peak of a surge that was triggered by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The state’s death rate increased to 66 279, 1,324 more than that of 64 955 for the week Jan 21-27. Experts agree that it is not surprising that death reports are delayed and the number of deaths reported would rise faster than the new cases. It is not uncommon for the death date to be several days or even weeks before it is included in the count.
On February 3, 37 children died in under-16 years, 1,207 in the age group 30-39, 2,877 in the age range 40-49 and 6,602 in the age bracket 50-59. There were also 5,416 deaths in the 60-64 age group, and 49,682 in 64-year-olds.
The new Florida case positivity rate fell to 18.5% from Jan. 28-Feb. 3. This compares to 23.5% on Jan. 21-27 and 26.8% on Jan. 14-20. 29.3% reported for the week Jan. 7-13, 31.2% for the period Dec. 31-Jan. 6. The highest new case positivity rate was reported for the age group of 12-19 years old, 22.7% for 5-11 year-olds, and 20.1% in those under 5. 14.4% was reported by those over 65, 16% by those 60-64, and 17% by those 50-59.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the transmission rate for COVID-19 is still high in Florida and Pinellas County. This compares to the 8,984 cases (about 1,283 per week) for Jan. 21-25, 11,779 cases (about 1,683 per day) for Jan. 14-20, 14,316 (about 2,045 per day) for Jan. 7-13. The total number of cases increased to 197833. According to the CDC, the rate of new cases decreased by 37%.
The county’s Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2018 case positivity rate was 18%. This is lower than Jan. 21-27 at 25.2%, Jan. 14-20 at 26.8%, Jan. 7-13 at 27.5%, Jan. 31-Jan. 6 at 25.6%, and Jan. 14-20 at 25.2%.
The CDC reported that Pinellas had 621 new hospital admissions during the last seven days, compared with 727 the week before. This represents a 17% decrease in admissions.
Pinellas saw 85 deaths in the last seven days, compared with 70 deaths last week. This was a 21% increase in death rates. The week before, only 37 deaths had been reported. The deaths of individuals are not reported by the DOH.
Due to revisions by the Federal Drug Administration to its emergency use authorizations, all monoclonal antibody sites in the state are now closed. The United States has banned all treatments.
All county testing sites are open. COVID-19 tests can be purchased at many local pharmacies. There are three locations in Pinellas that are open without appointment. The first site is located at 7150 114th St., Largo. The second is located at 2333 34th St. S. St. Petersburg. The third is Tropicana field, Lot 2.
Open daily at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the sites on 114th Street and 2333 St. S. are in St. Petersburg. New clients can be accepted until 4:30 p.m. Call 844-770-8542. Tropicana Field’s drive-thru location is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Both rapid antigen and PCR testing will be available. All individuals with health coverage will need to present their insurance card. If you’d rather do your own testing The Wellness Firm provides wholesale rapid antigen tests available on the site!
No appointment is necessary but the public is encouraged to pre-register at for the test at Tropicana Field at ImpactHealth.com/stpetetrop. To enter the testing area, those who require a test must line up on 16th Street South.
Dr. Ulyee Choe, Director of DOH Pinellas, recommends that you get tested within five days after any suspected exposure to COVID-19 in order to allow time for the incubation period.
As of Jan. 20, the county’s dashboard, covid19.pinellascounty.org/dashboard/, local hospitals were feeling the crunch of the recent surge in cases with most showing high to moderate stress. Around 12% of beds were occupied in COVID-19 patients, and 18% in ICU. Trending upward was the number of new patients.
This post was written by a medical professional at The Wellness Firm. The Wellness Firm provides onsite Flu Shots, onsite rapid COVID event testing, employee physical examination, as well as American Heart Association CPR certification classes. We have professionals that provide in-person hands-on, quality training. For more information click here!