State health officials reported 1,707 new COVID-19 cases, Monday, bringing the statewide total to 756,727 cases. The Florida Department of Health also reported 54 new coronavirus related deaths, Oct. 19, increasing the statewide death toll to 16,222 fatalities.
Over the past five days, Florida has averaged a daily increase of about 3,015 infections a day and has added a total 426 deaths.
Of the more than 5.7 million (5,746,529) COVID-19 tests that have been reported in Florida so far, the overall positivity rate stands at 13.17%.
The latest single-day positivity rate reported by the Florida Division of Emergency Management using the formula recommended by the World Health Organization stands at 4.86%.
Here in the Southwest Florida region including Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota Counties, health officials have reported a total of 63,433 COVID-19 infections and 1,574 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The Sarasota County School Board will discuss the district’s face-covering policy at a workshop on Tuesday and will later vote on whether to keep a mask mandate in place.
The emergency order requiring face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19 is set to expire early next month.
If extended, the policy could remain in place until the end of the school year.
Public health officials have urged the board to keep the mask mandate in place. At a school board meeting in September, Sarasota County Health Department administrator Chuck Henry said masks and social distancing were key tools to mitigating the virus.
But a vocal contingent of protesters has objected to the mask policy at recentschool board meetings.
Earlier this month, people for and against face masks, verbally taunted each other at meetings, which caused security to escort people out of the meeting room.
The school board vote takes place amid a rising positivity test rate for COVID-19 in Sarasota County. As of Monday, just over 6 percent of tests have come back positive, compared to under 4%, two weeks ago.
COVID-19 cases and positivity rates are climbing in the Florida Keys. Thirty-three additional cases were reported, Monday, and the 14-day average for positivity is more than 7%.
Monroe administrator for the state Department of Health Bob Eadie said the increasing number of cases makes contact tracing and controlling the virus more of a challenge.
“We are getting to be swamped right now, just because of the staff that we have and all of the staff that we had before have been pulled back by the state,” said Eadie.
Still, he said there is some action local governments can take to protect people and set an example.
“It is my strong recommendation that any public body that can meet virtually, should be,” said Eadie.
Both the Key West and Monroe County commissions had planned upcoming meetings where a quorum of the officials would be together in person and the public could attend. Both announced Monday that the meetings would go back to online-only.
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