Pinellas Sees Record Number Of COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — With more than 5,116 Pinellas County residents testing positive for the coronavirus in the past week and more residents seeking to get tested, the county reopened a testing site Aug. 9 where more than 2,800 people were tested for the coronavirus in the first four days since its opening.

The opening of the testing site comes at a time when the state is experiencing record numbers of positive coronavirus cases due to the introduction of the more contagious delta variant of the virus.

Dr. Ulyee Choe, director of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County, said Pinellas County is seeing its highest rates since the pandemic began, with an average of 800 cases a day.

The 5,116 residents who tested positive in the last seven days represent a 23.43 percent increase over the previous week and give Pinellas County a 19.92 percent positivity rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coronavirus data tracker.

Of those who tested positive, 808 people have been hospitalized with 33 admitted to intensive care units and 10 deaths. According to Choe, that's the most people ever hospitalized with the coronavirus in Pinellas County. The surge in the hospital census has prompted some Pinellas County hospitals to postpone elective surgeries and reinstate visitor limits.

Especially troubling to parents who sent their children back to Pinellas County schools just two days ago, the school district's tracker reported 37 school staff members and 72 students tested positive for the coronavirus on the first day of school and 19 staff members and 76 students tested positive on Friday.

On Monday, the school district reported 52 students and 116 staff tested positive.

Choe told Pinellas County commissioners that hospitals are treating an unprecedented number of children for COVID-19. The county's premier pediatrics hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, reported 181 pediatric patients treated for the coronavirus in July and 90 children in the first 10 days of August. The hospital currently has eight children in its intensive care unit.

Statewide, as of Wednesday, 14,227 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. That's the highest number of hospitalizations in Florida since the pandemic was declared on March 3, 2020.

Due to an executive order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis, schools cannot require students to wear masks to school. However, the CDC is urging parents to voluntarily send their children to school with masks.

Additionally, the CDC advises vaccinating any child age 12 or over. There currently is no vaccine approved for children under age 12.

According to the CDC, a little more than half (51.5 percent) of those eligible in Pinellas County have been fully vaccinated.

For residents wishing to get tested, the county site is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until further notice at the Center for Health Equity, 2333 34th St. S., St. Petersburg.

CVS, Walgreens and urgent care clinics in Pinellas are also providing tests. For a complete list of sites, click here.

See related story: Pinellas County Opens Free Coronavirus Testing Site