COVID-19 cases in Pinellas County shot up by 81, according to the report from Florida Department of Health on Friday, bringing the count to 1,479. Four more residents have died due to the novel coronavirus, upping the death toll to 95.
So far this week, DOH has reported 181 new cases and 13 deaths. DOH reported 124 new cases and seven deaths from May 25-31, 151 new cases and eight deaths from May 18-24, 159 new cases and seven deaths from May 11-17, and 95 new cases and 19 deaths from May 4-10, which was the first week of phase one of the state’s recovery plan.
The county’s first two COVID-19 cases were reported on March 11. The first death was confirmed on March 23.
Statewide, the cumulative number of cases increased to 61,488 with 2,660 deaths. Cases in the United States totaled 1,875,402 with 108,278 deaths. Globally, more than 6.67 million cases have been reported with 391,773 deaths.
COVID-19 cases in Pinellas include 1,427 Florida residents and 51 non-residents. More cases were in females, 57%, to 43% in males. Ages range from 1-101. Median age was 57.
DOH reported that 425 have been hospitalized in Pinellas, which includes 407 residents and 18 nonresidents. About 30% people with confirmed cases have been hospitalized since March.
Local hospitals reported 31% available bed capacity on Friday with nearly 20% capacity for adult ICU beds.
“Hospitalizations is a count of all laboratory confirmed cases in which an inpatient hospitalization occurred at any time during the course of illness,” DOH said. “These people may no longer be hospitalized. This number does not represent the number of COVID-19 positive persons currently hospitalized. We do not have a figure for that information at this time.”
Charts on the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard provide data on ages, number of new cases by day and other county-specific details. This one is for Pinellas.
Testing in Pinellas
As of June 5, 48,678 COVID-19 tests had been done in Pinellas, 1,250 more than the day before. DOH says an average of 3% of test results were positive. Thirteen tests were inconclusive and results were pending for 208.
A summary report for Pinellas County released June 4 shows 1.9% of tests from June 3 were positive, 1.3% from June 2, 2.3% from June 1 were positive, 1.3% from May 31, 1.9% from May 30, 2.1% from May 29, 1.4% from May 28 and 1.2% from May 27 were positive. The numbers do not include people who have previously tested positive.
For information on testing, contact your health provider, or call the state DOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-866-779-6121 or the Pinellas County DOH’s hotline at 727-824-6900. Both numbers are available 24/7.
For online information on testing and location of sites, visit https://covid19.pinellascounty.org/testing/.
St. Petersburg is still county’s hot spot
DOH provided updated and revised information on the city of residence for 1,340 of the cases in Pinellas on Thursday. St. Petersburg has the most with 550 cases (41%), 206 are Clearwater residents, 165 from Largo, 138 from Seminole, 75 from Palm Harbor, 66 from Pinellas Park, 36 from Tarpon Springs, 24 from Dunedin, 16 from Safety Harbor, 13 from Oldsmar, 11 from Clearwater Beach, 10 from Indian Rocks Beach, six from South Pasadena, five from Kenneth City, four each from Madeira Beach and Gulfport, three from Belleair, two each from Bay Pines, Belleair Beach and Belleair Bluffs, and one each from Indian Shores, North Redington Beach, Crystal Beach, Treasure Island and Tierra Verde.
Case numbers at long-term care facilities
At least one case has been reported at 44 of the county’s long-term care facilities as of June 2. Since March, 448 cases have been reported at these facilities, or 33% of cases in the county.
DOH reported 250 cases in residents and 115 in staff at the facilities as of June 2. The numbers do not reflect current infections.
DOH reported on June 2 that 72 cases had been reported by Gulf Shore Care Center, 72 cases by St. Petersburg Nursing and Rehab, 50 cases had been reported by Freedom Square Seminole Nursing Pavilion, 30 by St. Mark Village nursing home in Palm Harbor, 33 by Carrington Place of St. Pete, 23 by Freedom Square Health Care Center in Seminole, 23 by Health and Rehabilitation Centre at Dolphin View at South Pasadena and 10 by Patrick Manor in St. Petersburg. The rest had less than 10 cases.
These numbers are provisional and subject to change.
COVID-19 deaths
DOH reported on June 5 that four more county residents have died, bringing the death toll to 95. No further information was available.
At least 66 of the county’s 95 deaths were residents or staff at one of the county’s long-term care facilities. According to a weekly report from DOH released May 29, 25 deaths were from Freedom Square Seminole Nursing Pavilion, including one staff member; 11 deaths from St. Mark Village; eight from Gulf Shore Care Center; five from Freedom Square Rehabilitation & Nursing Services; three from Patrick Manor; three from St. Petersburg Nursing and Rehab; and two from the Inn at Freedom Square. In addition, one death each was reported at Bardmoor Oaks Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Largo, Bay Tree Center in Palm Harbor and Palm Garden in Clearwater. Note: Palm Garden in Clearwater says it has not had any deaths.
District Six Medical Examiner’s office released one death report on June 5 for an 85-year-old man who died June 4 from Health and Rehabilitation Centre at Dolphin View. DOH reported June 4 the death of an 89-year-old woman.
DOH reported June 2 the deaths of an 85-year-old woman, a 74-year-old old woman, an 80-year-old man, a 68-year-old man, a 74-year-old man, an 85-year-old man and an 84-year-old man.
District Six Medical Examiner’s office released five death investigation reports on June 2, including two residents of Gulf Shore Care Center: an 80-year-old man who died May 30 and an 84-year-old man who died June 1.
The medical examiner’s office also confirmed the death of an 85-year-old man who died May 31 from The Health and Rehabilitation Centre at Dolphins View, and an 85-year-old woman who died May 31 from Freedom Square Seminole Nursing Pavilion. The fifth death was a 67-year-old man who had lived at home.
DOH confirmed the death of a 67-year-old man on June 1. The medical examiner’s office released three death investigation reports on June 1, including a 68-year-old man who died May 28, a 74-year-old man who died May 29 from Health and Rehabilitation Centre at Dolphins View and a 75-year-old woman who died May 30 from Gulf Shore Care Center.
Local state of emergency
Pinellas County Commission voted June 5 to extend the local state of emergency through June 19. Commissioners have lifted local restrictions at beaches, swimming pools and playgrounds; however, statewide orders remain in effect, which include social distancing, capacity and sanitation requirements. Commissioners urge the public to wear cloth masks when in large groups, such as the recent protests, or in enclosed public spaces.
For more information, visit https://covid19.pinellascounty.org/.
State cases surpass 61,000 with 2,660 deaths
The number of confirmed cases in Florida residents was up to 59,993 on Friday. Another 1,495 cases were reported in non-residents, bringing the state’s total to 61,488— 1,305 more than the number reported on Thursday.
The numbers are cumulative going back to March 4. DOH has not provided information on how many people have recovered.
The number of deaths in Florida increased to 2,660, which is 53 more than the number reported the day before.
DOH reports that 10,794 have been hospitalized statewide.
Charts on the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard provide statewide information on ages, number of new cases by day and other details.
As of June 5, 1,135,865 people had been tested statewide. DOH says 5.4% of results have been positive. As of June 4, 909 tests were inconclusive and results were pending for 1,221.
Of the 61,488 cases, 2,162 were travel-related, 28,375 had contact with a confirmed case, 2,079 had travel and contact with a confirmed case and 20,201 were under investigation.
Statewide recovery plans
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced during a June 3 press conference that the state is moving into phase 2 of its recovery plan. Bars and pubs can reopen on Friday with 50% indoor capacity with no restrictions on outdoor seating except to maintain social distancing. All customers must be seated to be served. The new rules do not apply to nightclubs.
Restaurants can seat customers at their bars starting on Friday and can continue to operate at 50% capacity.
He is also changing the rules to allow gatherings of up to 50 people, instead of 10.
Retail establishments can move to full capacity as can gyms. In-store retail businesses, including gyms and fitness centers, must still adhere to social distancing guidelines keeping 6 feet apart. Sanitation protocols also are a requirement.
Entertainment venues, such as movie theaters, bowling alleys and concert halls, can reopen at 50% capacity. Pinellas County had already allowed those venues to reopen.
In addition, the governor said other personal services can reopen, such as tattoo parlors, tanning, massage and acupuncture, but they must use Florida Department of Health guidance. The county also had already allowed those businesses to reopen.
Pari-mutuel facilities can submit reopening plans. The state’s universities have until June 23 to submit reopening plans.
Persons age 65 and older and those with underlying medical conditions are still urged to avoid crowds and exposure to COVID-19. The governor also urged others to be careful when interacting with those more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus virus.
In the written order, it says that all persons who work in long-term care facilities should be tested for COVID-19 on a routine basis. Visitation by family and friends is still prohibited.
National cases top 1.85 million with 106,274 deaths
According to information from Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, posted at 11:30 a.m. Friday, cases of the coronavirus reported in the United States were up to 1,875,402 with 108,278 deaths compared to 1,856,118 with 107,281 deaths at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. The number of global cases increased to 6,675,011 with 391,773 deaths compared to 6,551,290 with 386,795 deaths on Thursday.
For more information on the coronavirus, visit www.floridahealth.gov/index.html.
Suzette Porter is TBN’s Pinellas County editor. She can be reached at sporter@tbnweekly.com.
Note: All information is subject to change.
Revised to report that local state of emergency has been extended until June 19.
