CDC says county’s positivity down to 28.55%, compared to 31.16% a week earlier
Epidemiologists consistently have pointed out during the COVID-19 pandemic that deaths tend to lag the rise in new cases. That has proven to be the case at Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s two campuses, in Sarasota and Venice, as evidenced by the past weeks of the health care system’s coronavirus patient updates.
On Jan. 20, Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) announced that it had recorded a total of 557 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic, in March 2020. By Jan. 27, the figure was up to 578, an increase of close to 4% over the seven-day period.
The number of patients that SMH has counted between its two campuses also has remained above 200 over the past week, with the highest figure — 221 — noted on Jan. 24.
For the seven days preceding The Sarasota News Leader’s COVID-19 update on Jan. 21, the highest number on a given day was 214.
For the seven days through Jan. 24, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted, hospital admissions in the county were up 6.34%, and the percentage of beds in use by COVID-19 patients had risen 3.14% for the same period, reaching the level of 19.23% of all beds available.
Additionally, the figures for COVID-19 patients in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) of the two SMH campuses have ranged from a high of 28 on Jan. 27 to a low of 23 on Jan. 26.
And while the CDC continues to classify the transmission of the virus in Sarasota County as “High,” the positivity rate was down to 28.55% for the seven-day period through Jan. 27.
For the seven days through Jan. 20, the positivity rate was 31.16%, the CDC noted.
The case rate per 100,000 people in the county correspondingly was lower for the seven days through Jan. 27: 1,262.96, the CDC said, compared to 1,404.52 for the Jan. 20 report.
The total number of new COVID-19 cases in the county for the seven days through Jan. 27 was 5,478, the CDC also reported. That was an 11.2% drop, compared to the 6,092 figure in the Jan. 20 update.
For the week of Jan. 14-20, the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee noted 5,557 new cases in Sarasota County, which state officials noted was a 10.5% drop from the figure for the previous week.
In early June, the state Health Department stopped its daily COVID-19 reports; instead, it delivers updates once a week.
Altogether, the Florida Department of Health pointed out, the new cases recorded for the period of Jan. 14-20 gave Sarasota County a total of 77,008 since the pandemic began. The very first COVID-19 patient in Florida was a person in a Sarasota County hospital.
Among other data, the CDC noted that, as of Jan. 27, 68.3% of the total county population had been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Moreover, the trend of adults age 65 and older having the highest, full vaccination level continued. On Jan. 27, the figure was 90.4%.
The percentage of county residents age 5 and up who are fully vaccinated had ticked up slightly to 70.8% in the Jan. 27 CDC report, compared to the 70.6% mark in the Jan. 20 update.
The percentage of county residents who have had boosters was 46.1% as of Jan. 27, the CDC said. Again, the highest level is among persons age 65 and up: 58.1%.
Testing sites
The following testing sites are available in Sarasota County, the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County (DOH-Sarasota) reminds the public:
- The former Sarasota Kennel Club, located at 5400 Old Bradenton Road in Sarasota. This drive-through site is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering rapid and PCR COVID-19 testing. This site is operated by Nomi Health.
- Robert L. Taylor Community Complex parking lot, located at 1845 34th St. in Sarasota. This walk-up site is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PCR COVID-19 testing is available throughout the day. This site is operated by Lab Services.
- Dallas White Park, located at 5900 Greenwood Ave. in North Port. This walk-up site is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PCR COVID-19 testing is available throughout the day. This site is operated by Lab Services.
- Ed Smith Stadium parking lot, located at 2700 12th St. in Sarasota. This drive-through COVID-19 testing site offers PCR testing only and operates seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This site is operated by Real Diagnostics.
- Venice Community Center, located at 326 Nokomis Ave. S. in Venice. This drive-through site is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PCR COVID-19 testing is available throughout the day. This site is operated by Lab Services.
Vaccination availability update
Public health officials continue to stress that vaccinations and boosters are the best means of preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19.
DOH-Sarasota offers doses of the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to persons at its offices in downtown Sarasota (2200 Ringling Blvd., 34237) and in North Port (6950 Outreach Way, 34287).
No appointments are necessary. The North Port office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Sarasota facility stays open past 4 p.m. — until 6 p.m. — on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week.