Hillsborough County reports 10% positivity rate for first time in nearly two months

Hillsborough County confirmed its highest COVID-19 positivity rate in nearly two months on Sunday, reporting a rate of 10.01%, according to Florida Department of Health data released Monday.

The last time the county reached 10% was on Feb. 3, when it reported a rate of 10.25%. Health officials consider the spread of the virus out of control when it hits 10% positivity.

Despite just crossing the marker on Sunday, the county has recorded a steady increase in its positivity rate over the past week, jumping from 8.57% on Monday to 9.09% on Friday, up to 9.84% on Saturday.

Because of the gradual increase over the week, it’s likely that Sunday’s positivity rate is not an outlier, and instead a possible indication of a slight spike as people grow restless to return to normal.

Hillsborough County also confirmed 636 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, including 395 cases Saturday and 241 cases on Sunday. The county did not see any new confirmed deaths over the weekend, but did report three additional hospitalizations.

Since the start of the pandemic, the county has seen 120,893 cases of COVID-19, along with 1,602 deaths.

Pinellas County also saw a weekend of relatively high positivity rates. On Saturday, the county confirmed a rate of 7.16%, and on Sunday, 8.9%. For reference, the county has maintained a rate around 5% in the past week, which climbed to 6.3% on Friday.

The county did report fewer cases than its neighbor over the weekend, tallying only 352 new cases. Over the weekend, Pinellas saw 11 new deaths from the virus, as well as six additional hospitalizations.

So far, Pinellas County has recorded 71,839 cases of COVID-19, and 1,554 resulting deaths.

Despite this weekend’s increased virus numbers, shots are still going into arms.

Hillsborough County has so far administered vaccines to 324,560 individuals, including 152,376 who are now fully vaccinated. Those who are fully vaccinated are comprised of 16,859 people who received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and 135,517 who have completed a two shot series.

Over the weekend, the county vaccinated 10,381 individuals.

Pinellas County has administered vaccines to 285,579 people, including 155,231 who are now fully vaccinated. Those who are completely vaccinated include 8,425 people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and 146,806 who got a second dose of one of the two-shot vaccine series.

Pinellas saw 3,279 people vaccinated over the weekend.