State health officials reported 4,115 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, increasing the statewide total to 584,047 cases. Wednesday marked the fourth time this week, the Florida Department of Health reported fewer than 5,000 new cases of the virus in a day.
Health officials also reported 174 coronavirus-related deaths, Aug. 19, bringing the state's death toll over the 10,000-death threshold with 10,067 fatalities.
Of the 4,312,904 tests that have been performed in Florida so far, the overall positivity rate remains at 13.5%. Wednesday’s single-day positivity rate dropped slightly from Tuesday to 7.08%.
The Agency for Health Care Administration reported Wednesday that there were 5,350 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout Florida, which is down from Tuesday's report by 134 patients.
The Florida Health Department reported 505 new hospitalizations, Wednesday, for a total of 35,200 hospitalizations since the beginning of the pandemic.
Here in the Southwest Florida region including Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota Counties, state health officials reported 301 new cases of the virus, yesterday, for a total of 50,081 cases.
There were also 15 new deaths reported in the Southwest Florida region, Wednesday, including six new deaths each in Collier and Sarasota Counties and three fatalities in Charlotte County for a total of 1,118 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The first day of hearings in the legal battle over reopening brick-and mortar schools in Florida wrapped up Wednesday afternoon.
Statewide teachers’ union, the Florida Education Association, is challenging the state’s order that campuses must open five days per week. The suit alleges the state mandate violates a constitutional requirement that public schools be “safe.”
The FEA rested its case Wednesday, part of which included bringing expert witnesses. One of those was Doctor Annette Nielsen. She serves on an advisory board for Orange County Schools.
“Numbers are going to increase. You’re going to have kids get sick, you’re going to have teachers become sick,” Nielsen told those on the Zoom hearing. “You’re going to have – everyone in the school will have a close contact who becomes sick. So not only will you have illness, but then in response to that, you’ll also have complications. Whether that’s heart issues, dialysis issues – a multitude of issues that you can have.”
The state begins presenting its case Thursday morning. Leon County judge Charles Dodson has repeatedly urged the two sides to reach an agreement. If that doesn’t happen, he says he hopes to make a ruling early next week.
In the meantime, more school reopenings throughout the state are looming.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is suggesting South Florida should soon join the rest of the state in the second phase of economic recovery efforts. He says having venues like bars closed down hasn’t helped bring down the positivity rate in the South Florida region.
“The parts of Florida that had the most significant outbreak were our three phase one counties, which did not have and have not had pubs open since the middle of March,” said DeSantis.
“I think the obvious inference was a lot of the same socializing was going on, it was just in a private venue.”
The three phase one counties are Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.
Earlier this week, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said for now he does not plan to lift restrictions even though numbers are improving.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on Floridians to take care of their mental health as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause fear and isolation.
He convened a roundtable Wednesday in Altamonte Springs of physicians and criminal justice leaders to discuss data trends that together define the degree of our isolation.
In Seminole County alone, the numbers of suicides, overdoses and overdose deaths are up. Crime is down, and many believe it is because things like child abuse are going unreported.
“What would probably have more bang for the buck?” DeSantis asked. “Testing an asymptomatic 22-year-old or putting some of that money toward mental health in schools or fighting some of the substance abuse? And I think probably the latter would have a little bit more bang for the buck. And it doesn’t mean you don’t do all of these things in combination.”
Also part of the roundtable was Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, who in May announced a multi-agency initiative on mental health and substance abuse called Hope for Healing Florida.
Noting that numbers of hospital visits are down, the leaders urged Floridians to seek help when needed.
Collier County began accepting another round of applications for CollierCares On Monday.
The program provides federal relief funds for people experiencing financial hardship resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aileen Castro of the United Way of Collier County said the money can be used for past due rent, mortgage or utility payments.
"We want to make sure that anybody who needs that kind of assistance is applying and the maximum amount that you can receive is up to $10,000—$1,250 more if you have child care assistance that you need to pay off that is past due," Castro said.
Applications will be accepted until Aug. 31, but Castro encourages people in need to apply immediately.
"We definitely want to make sure people know to apply as soon as possible so they can get all of their documents in and whatever corrections that might be needed to make the process easier on themselves," Castro said.
For more information on CollierCares funds or other relief services provided in Collier County, call 311.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is prompting hospital systems in Southwest Florida to scale back fundraising efforts.
The Naples Daily News reports, both the NCH Healthcare System and Lee Health have cancelled fundraising events including NCH's 2020 Hospital Ball.
This would have been the 62nd year for the event and last year, it raised $2.1 million for renovations to the NCH downtown hospital's emergency department.
This year's Hospital Ball aimed to raise funding for constructing and equipping a simulation center to provide scenario-based medical training to medical staff, colleges, law enforcement and paramedic programs.
Meanwhile, Lee Health cancelled its Rumrunners Celebrity Chef Night in Cape Coral. In the past, that event has raised up to $125,000 in support for Barbara's Friends, which is a financial support program for kids receiving cancer treatment at Golisano Children's Hospital.
Other planned fundraising events through the end of the year have been cancelled or modified to reflect the need for social distancing.
Lee Health officials say they haven't yet decided how they'll handle plans for fundraisers beyond the calendar year.
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