Florida at high risk for COVID-19

Posted 8/1/22

Florida’s COVID-19 new case positivity rate remains high, at 20.7% for July 22-28, according to the Florida Department of Health.

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Florida at high risk for COVID-19

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Florida’s COVID-19 new case positivity rate remains high, at 20.7% for July 22-28, according to the Florida Department of Health. However, many people now use home tests, available free by mail from the U.S. government or for purchase at many grocery and drug stores. The number of positives and negatives from the home tests are not reported.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now designate counties as high, medium or low risk of covid. While FDOH previously used the new case positivity rates to judge the risk, the CDC focuses on the number of covid-positive people who are ill enough to require hospitalization and the number of intensive care unit beds available. They also consider the number of (reported) new cases in the county in the past seven days, divided by the population of the county.

As of July 31, most of Florida was considered at high risk by the CDC. With the exception of three counties, Florida was considered at high risk for covid as of July 31. Glades, Collier and Franklin counties are at medium risk.

According to the Florida Department of Health report for July 22-28:

  • Collier County had 824 new covid cases.
  • Glades County had 22 new covid cases.
  • Hendry County had 91 new covid cases.
  • Highlands County had 400 new covid cases.
  • Martin County had 399 new covid cases.
  • Okeechobee County had 126 new covid cases.
  • Palm Beach County had 4,403 new covid cases.

Note: The FDOH report only includes new covid cases if the patient was tested at a health department, hospital, doctor’s office, testing site or pharmacy. Home tests are not included in the report.

FDOH reports that to date, there have been 77,565 covid-related deaths in Florida.

The CDC recommends those in areas at high risk for covid to:

  • Wear a face mask in public indoor spaces or anywhere you cannot maintain at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and others not in your household.
  • Stay updated with vaccinations.
  • Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.
  • Consult your doctor for additional recommendations, especially if you have other health concerns.

Every home in the United States is eligible for three orders of free covid tests. Each order includes four tests. For free covid tests, go online to https://www.covid.gov/tests.

covid, health, risk

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