Janelle Irwin Taylor
Hillsborough and Pinellas counties reported a combined 24 deaths Tuesday, according to Florida Department of Health data released Wednesday.
Hillsborough alone accounted for 15 of the new deaths, the highest single day death toll in weeks. Hillsborough’s death toll has now surpassed 1,000, at 1,011.
Pinellas County’s nine new deaths bring its death toll to 966.
While Pinellas County’s overall death toll is lower, its death rate is troubling. Of the county’s total cases, 2.5% of positive patients have died with the virus. The death rate in Hillsborough County is just 1.5%.
Still, Hillsborough is grappling with a more severe outbreak, even if health outcomes aren’t as grim as its neighbor across the Bay.
The county confirmed 512 new cases of COVID-19 from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning, a plus-500 number that has become the new norm over the past week. The county has now confirmed 67,060 cases since the pandemic began in March.
Pinellas, meanwhile, confirmed 326 new cases, bringing its total case load to 38,783. Pinellas has been frequently adding upwards of 300 new cases a day in recent weeks.
Both counties also continue to see rising positivity rates among newly tested patients, though again, Hillsborough County’s increases are typically larger than Pinellas.
In Hillsborough, 9.47% of the 4,855 new tests received Tuesday came back positive. That’s up from 9.25% on Monday and the fourth day out of the past week the rate has been above 9%. The county’s seven-day positivity rate sits at 8.96%, higher than its two week rate of 8.19%, which shows cases are continuing to grow.
The same is true in Pinellas, though to a lesser degree. The county’s positivity rate actually dropped Tuesday to 7.51% from 8.8% Monday. Still, Pinellas County’s seven-day average is higher, 7.24%, than its two week average, which is 7.05%.
