As Covid cases rise, deaths are decreasing

Pinellas County reported another 205 cases of Covid-19 Thursday. One more death was also recorded, bringing the county’s total to 830 since the pandemic began in March, according to data from the Florida Department of Health.

The county’s rolling two-week positivity rate has also been slowly ticking upward. After dropping as low as 3 percent in early October, the percentage now stands at 4.9 percent. The goal is to keep that number under 5 percent, city emergency manager Amber Boulding told city council members Thursday at their first in-person meeting in City Hall in more than a year. The state order allowing virtual meetings expired on Nov. 1.

“We’re getting really close to that 5 percent line,” Boulding said while noting that Pinellas County’s rolling average is the lowest of the state’s 10 most populous counties. Five percent is the number that some public health officials say should be a threshold for potential restrictions, although state and federal reopening guidelines cite a 10 percent threshold for imposing restrictions.

COVID update: 6.1% (⬇️) positive in our overnight county data. 4.9% (↔️) is our 2 week average. More data: 10% of all county cases result in hospitalization. 830 (or 3%) lives have been lost. Hospital bed capacity is stable.

Get tested: https://t.co/MT29LixxoO

— Rick Kriseman (@Kriseman) November 5, 2020

Though the numbers are up and the county is seeing a higher new baseline for cases, deaths are decreasing. Boulding attributed the lower death rate due to several factors including more people getting tested and learning their status earlier, and widespread mask wearing that can decrease the severity of the illness. 

“We need to continue to watch the numbers and stress mitigation measures,” Boulding said. 

Hospitalization numbers are fluid, though Boulding said that hospitals aren’t being strained due to Covid. Now, the focus is starting to shift to vaccine planning and logistics. The county is exploring how to implement a vaccine strategy to make sure everyone who wants one can get one. However, there are concerns about hesitancy from people who may not be comfortable getting a new vaccine, Boulding said. 

Statewide, Florida recorded an additional 6,257 Covid-19 cases Thursday, marking six straight days that the weekly case average has gone up. Additionally, the U.S. reported more than 103,000 new cases Wednesday, the highest single day total since the pandemic began. It’s also the first time any country has documented more than 100,000 new cases in a single day.