Tampa Bay doubles COVID-19 cases over past week

Hillsborough County is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, reporting an average 13.7% positivity rate in the last week, according to the Florida Department of Health’s weekly report released Friday.

The county’s trend mirrors the state’s sharp rise in cases, reporting double the number of new cases this week than the week prior.

Hillsborough County reported 2,918 new cases from last Friday, July 9, through Thursday, July 15 — that’s nearly three times the number of cases reported in the week prior, which recorded 1,227 new cases and a positivity rate of 8.4%.

The latest report shows that 54% of eligible people in the county are vaccinated, or 700,729 individuals. That eligibility accounts for the county’s 12 years and older population.

In the last week, 7,002 more people got vaccinated, a slight increase from the week prior, which reported 6,170 new vaccinations.

Since the start of the pandemic, the county has seen 150,433 cases of COVID-19.

In neighboring Pinellas County, cases are not as high, but are still on the rise. Pinellas reported 1,365 new cases of COVID-19, double from the only 569 cases recorded in last week’s report. Since the start of the pandemic, the county has seen 82,880 cases of COVID-19.

Pinellas County’s positivity rate is also up, moving from 6.1% to 9.2% on average in the past week.

As far as vaccinations in the county, about 58% — or 512,725 people — have taken a shot among those who are able to. Within the last week, the county has recorded 3,951 new vaccinations.

Vaccination rates in Pasco County are similar to those in Hillsborough — 55% of those eligible have received a shot, or 260,990 people. The county also reported 2,216 new vaccinations in the last week.

Pasco County also saw 885 new cases of COVID-19 over the week, with a 13.2% average positivity rate. That’s double the prior week’s caseload, which was 394, according to the report.

Since the pandemic began, Pasco County has reported 44,705 cases.