Cases trickle downward in Pinellas and Hillsborough as fewer COVID-19 tests roll in

Both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties saw a slight down turn in new COVID-19 cases Thursday, according to Florida Department of Health data released Friday.

The latest numbers, covering Thursday morning through Friday morning, show Hillsborough tallied 432 new cases, down from the 539 new cases reported in Thursday’s report covering Wednesday morning through Thursday morning.

Pinellas County tallied 295 new cases, down from the 364 new cases reported the day prior, but still up from previous days throughout the week.

Both counties’ reductions came amid a drop in both the number of test results received and the positivity rate for those tests.

Hillsborough County reported a 7.03% positivity rate, down from 7.44% Wednesday. The county also received just 5,664 tests, down from 6,545 the day prior.

Likewise, Pinellas County’s single-day positivity rate dropped too 5.23%, down from 6.16% Wednesday. The county received results from 4,879 tests, down from 5,483 the day before.

Both counties saw several new deaths confirmed. Hillsborough confirmed eight new COVID-19 deaths, brining its death toll to 955. Pinellas County confirmed seven new deaths, for a total of 922.

Hillsborough County has now tallied 60,241 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began while Pinellas has tallied nearly half that number at 34,152.

The median age for cases in Hillsborough County is 37 while in Pinellas County, whose population is older on average, the mean age is 43.