Drew Dixon
Jacksonville’s number of coronavirus cases jumped dramatically in one day climbing to 115 people Saturday morning.
That’s significantly up from Thursdays’ figure of 85 total cases in Duval County, according to Florida Department of Health figures released Saturday during the agency’s 11 a.m. update. Duval County residents account for 109 of those cases while six are non-residents of Jacksonville. All live in Florida.
The death toll from COVID-19 has held steady in recent days in Jacksonville with three fatalities reported from the infection. There have been 22 people who have been or are currently hospitalized. Out of the total number of Jacksonville cases, 48 have been men and 56 women.
Duval County has had 1,670 tests come back negative, the DOH coronavirus “dashboard” said Saturday.
Jacksonville started increasing public testing for the virus this week at a TIAA Bank Field parking lot, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Those tests were free and on Monday they were opened to all ages.
Another testing center was established at the Prime Osborn Convention Center where people can pay for the exams. That’s also where a federal field hospital has been established to handle up to 250 intensive care unit patients if local hospitals reach capacity. But Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said local hospitals are nowhere near capacity.
On Monday, Curry signed an executive order directing local businesses to allow employees to work from home. After several city residents complained about bosses who would not let them work from home, Curry called for employees and employers to be “reasonable” in reaching agreements.
Florida’s total cases of coronavirus climbed to 3,763 Saturday, the DOH said. That’s up from Friday night’s figure of 2,900 and there also was a dramatic spike in deaths from the virus. That figure went from 34 to 46 Saturday. Another 503 people have been hospitalized across the state.
A total of 40,250 tests have been given around the Sunshine State.
Across the United States, there have been 105,470 cases reported and 1,709 people have died from coronavirus.
On the global scale, 621,636 people have been infected and of those, 28,823 people have died from COVID-19 around the world.
