2 Years Of Living With COVID: Looking Back In Sarasota, Bradenton

SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL — It’s been a little over two years since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Florida. After the first two cases were reported in the state — in Manatee and Hillsborough Counties on March 1, 2020 — Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency a week later on March 9.

Since then, it’s been a series of ups and downs for Florida and the Sarasota and Bradenton areas. As of March 3, there have been 5,814,517 COVID-19 cases in the state since the start of the pandemic and 70,997 people have died, according to the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report.

In Sarasota County, there have been 88,637 coronavirus cases reported since March 2020 and 94,633 cases in Manatee County, FDOH data shows.

Here’s a look at how COVID-19 has affected the everyday lives of the region’s residents and visitors in the second year of the pandemic.

Vaccines

Over the past year, COVID-19 vaccines have become more readily available to Florida residents and are touted by the FDOH as the best tool against the virus. They started out available only to adults and are now recommended for everyone 5 and older.

As of March 3, 15,418,039 Floridians — 74 percent of those eligible — have gotten at least one does of the three brands on the market, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, according to the FDOH.

In Sarasota County, 329,307 — 77 percent of those 5 and older — have gotten the shot. And in Manatee County, the vaccination rate is significantly lower. Just 69 percent of those eligible — 268,874 people — have gotten vaccinated.

Delta and Omicron Variants

Just when things were looking up, two COVID-19 variants came along that disrupted the world again.

COVID-19’s delta variant hit first last summer, and the number of new cases skyrocketed in Sarasota and Manatee counties. In a matter of weeks, the number of new cases increased tenfold in both counties.

In December, a new wave of cases hit the area driven by the omicron variant. Though omicron wasn’t as deadly as delta, it infected more people and disrupted life through February. The state saw hundreds of thousands of new cases in some weeks, routinely breaking records for the number of reported cases.

Schools

With the delta variant surging in August, schools had to make quick decisions about whether they’d adopt a school mask policy — a hot-button issue among parents.

After lengthy discussions and feedback from parents as the school year started, Manatee County Schools adopted a school mask mandate that offered families an opt-out provision.

Sarasota County Schools adopted a more stringent mask policy and joined the statewide face mask policy fight. The district enacted an emergency mask mandate with no opt out at the start of the school year because of the growing number of cases.

The Florida Department of Education threatened to withhold salaries for members of the Sarasota County School Board because of the mask requirements for students, staff, visitors and vendors.

The district fought back, though, with a letter from their attorney to Richard Corcoran, the state's education commissioner, maintaining that its mask policy "is both lawful and compliant" with Florida law.

The temporary 90-day mask mandate was repealed by the school board in October before its expiration date of Nov. 23.

The policy angered many parents in the district and the school board hosted lengthy meetings with parents, guardians and medical professionals speaking both for and against masks.

One father was so upset about the district's mask requirement that he showed up at his child's school, Ashton Elementary School, putting it into lockdown.

And the school district is still feeling the repercussions of that mask policy from Tallahassee. The State Legislature is considering budget cuts for schools that defied state orders and implemented mask policies anyway. Sarasota County Schools could lose about $12 million in funding.

Businesses

Many businesses had a tough time through the pandemic.

Restaurants and bars were especially hit hard as people were unable to gather publicly for the first few months of the pandemic and some remained cautious after that. Unfortunately, this meant there were many closures of restaurants and other businesses.

enRich Bistro, a popular Bradenton restaurant, was forced to close its doors in July 2020, blaming the “devastating” pandemic and failed leased negotiations as the reason in a Facebook post.

In Sarasota, JDub’s Brewing shut down its flagship location in 2021 after struggling to operate during the pandemic.

"Yeah, COVID kicked our a--, straight up," owner Jeremy Joerger said in a Facebook video.

He added, “In spite of trying very hard to open the Sarasota location, we're not going to be able to do it. There's some reasons for that. Some of them I'm not gonna say on this format, but in the end, we just couldn't do it."

Some businesses, like food trucks, flourished during the pandemic.

Lora Rust Wolters, owner of Smokin Momma Lora's BBQ, told Patch that she was in demand throughout the pandemic and even doubled her normal annual sales in 2021.

The popularity of food trucks made sense during a time when it was difficult for people to gather inside, she said. “We’re outside. You could keep your distance. You can’t come inside the truck. For a long time, we did contactless and pre-orders only.”

Two years later, there are new businesses opening every week in the Sarasota and Bradenton areas.

Mademoiselle Paris has expanded with two new eateries — one in downtown Sarasota, another on Anna Maria Island. A new BLVD Bistro is being planned in Sarasota, as well as SRQUS, an upscale music venue. The Gulf Gate area in Sarasota has welcomed several new restaurants, including Healthy to Go, which recently opened its doors. And the Lakewood Ranch area continues to get new restaurants.

Kim Fishman, the owner of Jersey Girl Bagels, which just opened in Bradenton, started her business during the pandemic when she learned to make bagels at home.

“It really took off because everyone was in lockdown and everything was closed and people just wanted to order them,” she said.

It grew so much that she eventually needed a storefront.

“COVID is the reason for the business,” she said, “and also all the hardships that come along with opening a business during a pandemic.”

And even some of those restaurants that closed are looking to reopen. The owner enRich has indicated he plans to reopen. Oscura, a Bradenton café and music venue, will also relaunch this year. And The Rosemary in Sarasota recently opened its doors again for the first time in closing in 2020.

Real Estate

Home prices have reached record highs as people clamor to move to the Sarasota and Bradenton areas.

Seven of the top 10 "Hottest Neighborhoods of 2022" in the United States are located in the Sarasota area, according to a Redfin analysis.

And at the end of February, a beachfront home in Anna Maria sold for $16 million, making it the highest price real estate sale ever made in Manatee County.

In February, the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee reported record-low inventory and median, single-home prices that were up nearly 37 percent over the same time during the previous year.

This means more buyers are vying for the limited inventory available, making it a challenging time to be looking for a new home, according to some local experts.

“More than ever we’re seeing that influx of people. It’s really ramped up,” Banning Tibbetts a realtor with Keller Williams on the Water in Bradenton told Patch. “A lot of people are retiring and just moving down here. While that used to be 80 to 90 percent of (buyers) now it’s maybe half. The rest are people working remotely. If they don’t have to be in a big city anymore — L.A., New York, San Francisco — why would they when they can be by the beach somewhere like Bradenton?”

Alexandria Twigg, a realtor with Keller Williams on the Water in Sarasota, said many of her clients are drawn to Florida because of how open it’s been during the pandemic and its politics.

“The majority of my clients moving here from other states are those who like the way our state is ran, they like our governor,” she said.

On top of that, there’s no state income tax and the state is more affordable than other places, she said, adding, “And they didn’t want their kids wearing masks in school.”