Positive rate for Covid tests soars in Pinellas County
December 28, 2020 - The percentage of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Pinellas County took a dramatic jump up Sunday, when 12.61 percent of the tests were positive, according to a new report from the Florida Department of Health. It's the first time in several months that the Pinellas County positivity rate has topped 10 percent, the threshold cited previously by state and federal officials for imposing restrictions. Over the past two weeks, the positivity rate has averaged 7.67 percent in Pinellas. As of Monday afternoon there were 309 people hospitalized in the county's acute care hospitals with a primary diagnosis of Covid-19 but the acute care hospitals reported 25 percent of capacity still was available. There's been a cumulative total of 43,480 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the county since March, including 270 new cases reported overnight. An additional six deaths reported overnight brings the cumulative death toll from Covid in Pinellas to 1,035 people.