Pinellas County administrator says now is not the time to let up on Covid precautions

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners has extended the county’s state of local emergency through Dec. 25, after cautions about the growing number of Covid-19 cases and deaths from top local government and health officials.

The Florida Department of Health reported an additional 339 confirmed cases of Covid-19 Tuesday and two more deaths. The county now has a cumulative total of 38,457 cases and 957 deaths due to Covid since March.

The seven-day case count has averaged 404, one of the highest since the summer, Dr. Uleye Choe, director of the Florida Department of Health-Pinellas County, told county commissioners at their Tuesday meeting.

The seven-day positivity rate – or the percent of people who take a Covid test and test positive – is at 7.3 percent, Choe said.

Hospital capacity is stable at this time, but there’s been an increase in Covid-occupied hospital beds, with 219 people hospitalized in Pinellas County with a primary diagnosis of Covid-19 as of Tuesday morning, Choe said.

“We recently had a working call with hospitals …  They are starting to have some concerns about staffing if numbers continue to increase,” Choe said.

“This obviously is not the time to curtail any of the current ordinances in place, and we ask you extend the state of local emergency,” said Barry Burton, Pinellas County administrator.

Commissioners voted unanimously for the extension, which keeps in effect a county ordinance that requires face coverings within public places and requires restaurants and bars to serve only patrons who are seated.

Pinellas County is serving as a state pilot site to administer the new Covid vaccine from Pfizer to residents of local nursing homes. Vaccine administration at nursing homes will begin Wednesday, Choe said.

Pinellas County has 68 active nursing homes, with more than 15,000 residents and staff at those facility. The county was given an allotment of 10,700 vaccines for the first of two doses, to be followed in about three weeks with the vaccine for the second doses. National surveys have indicated that fewer than 60 percent of people are interested in taking the vaccine, so Choe is not concerned about availability at nursing homes at this point.

“It’s important to remember the vaccine will not be widely available for a number of weeks or months down the road. We need to double down on our preventative measures, including wearing masks and social distancing for the foreseeable future,” Choe said. “For the public I ask for patience. The state is working to provide vaccine down the priority list and is currently working with community partners on the need to expand vaccination at access points. We have working groups with the hospitals, with EMS and other partners.”