Jacksonville shows marked slow-down in coronavirus cases
Small businesses owners who took a hit from the coronavirus outbreak in Jacksonville can begin applying for city-sponsored relief grants. Photo via Drew Dixon.

FLPOLsmallbiz
A single day does not indicate a trend, but it's at least a temporary reprieve.

After record-setting numbers for most of the past week, the First Coast ended the week with a slow down in new coronavirus cases, according to Florida Department of Health data released Saturday.

There were 262 new coronavirus cases in Jacksonville as of Friday for a total of 15,903. A single drop is not indicative of a patter, but the Friday case count is far from Wednesday’s when Jacksonville tallied 840 new cases, breaking all previous single-day records for the city.

Friday’s number is also  the lowest Jacksonville single-day increase in weeks. It’s also the first time Jacksonville’s positive test rate for the virus dropped below 10% this month. Jacksonville’s positivity rate was 9.7% Friday. The city added no new deaths holding at 93 and added five hospitalizations for a total of 482.

St. Johns County added 56 new cases Friday for a total of 2,326, and one new death for a total of 16.

Nassau County recorded one new fatality for a total of 4. Nassau added 22 new cases Friday for a total of 682.

Clay County added 80 new cases, rising to a total of 1,980 Friday. The death toll held at 42 while officials logged three new hospitalizations for a total of 144.

Baker County added five new cases of coronavirus Friday for a total of 220.

Across the five-county Northeast Florida region, there were 425 new cases Friday for a total of 21,111. That’s the least number of new daily cases the First Coast has seen in weeks and represents a formidable slow down in new cases after Thursday saw 897 new cases and growing the region’s total above 20,000 for the first time. There are now 159 deaths and 809 hospitalizations attributed to coronavirus on the First Coast.

Editor’s note on methodology: The Florida Department of Health releases new data every morning around 10:45 a.m. The total number reported in those daily reports include the previous day’s totals as well as the most up to date data as of about 9:30 a.m.

Florida Politics uses the report-over-report increase to document the number of new cases each day because it represents the most up-to-date data available. Some of the more specific data, including positivity rates and demographics, considers a different data set that includes only cases reported the previous day.

This is important to note because the DOH report lists different daily totals than our methodology to show day-over-day trends. Their numbers do not include non-residents who tested positive in the state and they only include single-day data, therefore some data in the DOH report may appear lower than what we report.

Our methodology was established based on careful consideration among our editorial staff to capture both the most recent and accurate trends.

Drew Dixon

Drew Dixon is a journalist of 40 years who has reported in print and broadcast throughout Florida, starting in Ohio in the 1980s. He is also an adjunct professor of philosophy and ethics at three colleges, Jacksonville University, University of North Florida and Florida State College at Jacksonville. You can reach him at [email protected].


2 comments

  • Sonja Fitch

    July 18, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    Shut down for 14 days looting Lenny! Give our children a chance to transition into school ! Cancel RNC! 1 in 3 children tested in Florida are positive ! We don’t know how or if children may pass virus! We do not have a clue if there are long range complications for our children’s health! Don’t use our children! Facts truth and tests before our children are transitioned into schools!

  • Paula

    July 18, 2020 at 1:39 pm

    Huh? Non-residents MUST be included in the count. Anything else, with Florida being a tourist destination, is totally inaccurate.

    The tourists are bringing and spreading the virus! Then leaving, so effective contact tracing becomes impossible.

    Stop short-term rentals state-wide, a huge contributor to the spread of the virus.

Comments are closed.


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