Tampa Bay continues to report decline in COVID-19 cases following January surge

The Tampa Bay is continuing to see a gradual decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases.

From Feb. 4 through Feb. 10, Hillsborough County reported 7,681 cases of COVID-19, according to the latest data released by the Florida Department of Health. That’s down from the 18,219 cases the county reported three weeks ago, in the last week of January.

Overall, case numbers are still way up from mid-December, when the county reported just above 1,000 weekly cases.

Since the pandemic’s start, Hillsborough County has reported 363,767 cases of COVID-19.

The caseload reported in the past week was accompanied by a countywide positivity rate of 15.9%. For reference, a 10% positivity rate is considered the threshold for community spread by researchers. The week prior, the county saw a rate of 19.4%.

As for vaccination numbers, 1,338 individuals got the jab in Hillsborough County this week. That’s a couple hundred fewer individuals than the week before. The county’s vaccination rate is now 69%, accounting for all residents five and up who are eligible to receive the shot.

Neighboring Pinellas County also is reporting a dip in COVID-19 cases, confirming 4,004 cases in the last week. That’s down from the 5,717 new cases the region saw the week prior. The county’s positivity rate also is slightly lower, coming in at 14.1% this past week, down from 18% the week prior.

For comparison, in mid-December, the county reported about 500 new weekly cases and a positivity rate of only 2.8%.

Pinellas County has confirmed 202,745 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

The report also showed that only 641 people in Pinellas County got vaccinated within the last week. With the addition of the newly vaccinated group, 654,435 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine. That’s 69% of the county’s eligible population.

Pasco County reported 2,454 new weekly cases and a positivity rate of 17.7%. So far, Pasco County has recorded 119,010 cases of COVID-19. In the week prior, Pasco County reported 3,680 COVID-19 cases and a 21.6% positivity rate.

The county has a vaccination rate of 67% after 467 more people got vaccinated in the last week.