Jacksonville records triple digit increase (again) in COVID-19 cases

Motorists formed long lines to get coronavirus tests at Lot J outside TIAA Bank Field Tuesday in Jacksonville. The site was closed Wednesday. Photo via Drew Dixon.

Duval County’s COVID-19 count jumped by 216 from Monday to Tuesday, rising from 3,203 to 3,419, according Florida Department of Health data released Wednesday.

While that’s a significant jump, it’s falls short of the county’s previous record of 276 set Saturday. It also breaks from Tuesday’s statewide trend, which saw a staggering new record of 5,499 new cases.

Jacksonville did set a new mark for percentage of coronavirus tests that returned positive. As of Tuesday, 12.9% of all exams administered came back positive with infections. Deaths held steady at 62 and hospitalizations did not increase.

The 12.9% positivity rate Tuesday was the highest since the coronavirus outbreak began. The previous high was 10.5% Sunday. Prior to that the rate came close to 10% several times in the past week, but never exceeded it.

Jacksonville may see a drop in new cases later this week as testing was halted at the city’s main testing site at TIAA Bank Field Tuesday and Wednesday due to thunderstorms in the area.

The site has been swamped in recent days with vehicles lined up for blocks on Bay Street.

Nearby in the region St. Johns County saw another jump of more than 30 new cases Tuesday, landing at 548.

St. Johns County’s percentage of positive test returns is also running high at 9.2%, only slightly down from 10% Monday.

Other areas in the five-county First Coast area showed little change in Tuesday’s numbers. Clay and Nassau counties showed slight upticks in new cases and Baker County had no change at all.

Across the First Coast there are now 4,660 cases of coronavirus, 107 deaths and 510 hospitalizations.

In Florida, there are now 109,014 COVID-19 cases, 3,281 deaths and 13,574 hospitalizations.