Janelle Irwin Taylor
Hillsborough County is less than a quarter of a percentage point from surpassing a 7-day rolling average positivity rate for COVID-19 tests of 10%.
With 10.44% of the county’s 4,733 tests received Tuesday, the county’s 7-day average percent positivity rate is now 9.79%. Its 14-day average is 9.42%, which shows the rate continues to rise day-to-day on average.
Tuesday was the third time in six days Hillsborough County has seen its positivity rate cross the 10% threshold.
The number of tests returned Tuesday, however, was the second lowest in two weeks, leading to a comparatively small number of new confirmed cases, 569. In recent weeks, reports have shown some days with nearly 1,000 new cases.
Hillsborough County has now confirmed 71,957 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Wednesday’s report from the Florida Department of Health also included eight new deaths, bringing the county’s overall death toll to 1,046. Another five individuals were hospitalized in the county with COVID-19.
Pinellas County also continues to post increasing data, though not to the same extent as its neighbor to the east. The county confirmed 374 new cases Tuesday, a number mostly inline with other recent daily data. Pinellas County has now confirmed 41,654 cases since the onset of the pandemic.
Of the county’s 4,125 tests returned Tuesday, 8.35% of them were positive, a rate up from 7.92% Monday. It’s the first time in more than a week the rate has climbed above 8% and the second highest rate in two weeks.
The county’s 7-day average is lower at 7.34%, but still trickling slowly upward day-to-day. The 14-day average is .04 percentage points lower.
Pinellas County health officials confirmed seven new deaths Tuesday, bringing its overall death toll to 1,007. The county reached 1,000 deaths in Tuesday’s report. In Pinellas County, there were ten people hospitalized with the virus Tuesday.
