The FDOH dashboard has Escambia County picking up only four new cases since late Wednesday. Santa Rosa has three fewer cases. I wish we could explain it, but that’s what the EOC and DOH Escambia are supposed to doing during press briefings. Â FDOH has not released latest nursing home data.
We are definitely on a roller coaster on total new cases per report:
| Date | Time | New Cases |
| 20-Apr | 6:00 PM | 1 |
| 21-Apr | 11:00 AM | 22 |
| 21-Apr | 6:00 PM | 3 |
| 22-Apr | 11:00 AM | 78 |
| 22-Apr | 6:00 PM | -3 |
| 23-Apr | 11:00 AM | 4 |
| 4/22/20 | 4/23/20 | |||
| 6 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Increase | ||
| Total Cases | 28576 | 28832 | 256 | 0.90% |
| Florida Residents | 27791 | 28043 | 252 | 0.91% |
| Non-Fla. | 785 | 789 | 4 | 0.51% |
| Deaths | 927 | 960 | 33 | 3.56% |
| Escambia | 415 | 419 | 4 | 0.96% |
| Okaloosa | 135 | 137 | 2 | 1.48% |
| Santa Rosa | 144 | 141 | -3 | -2.08% |
| Broward | 4228 | 4315 | 87 | 2.06% |
Top 20 Florida Counties
| Rank | County | Population | Cases | Per 30K |
| 1 | Dade | Â Â Â 2,715,516 | 10356 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 114.41 |
| 2 | Broward | Â Â Â 1,924,229 | 4315 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 67.27 |
| 3 | Palm Beach | Â Â Â 1,446,277 | 2468 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 51.19 |
| 4 | Orange | Â Â Â 1,321,194 | 1260 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 28.61 |
| 5 | Hillsborough | Â Â Â 1,378,883 | 988 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 21.50 |
| 6 | Duval | Â Â Â Â Â Â 924,229 | 937 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 30.41 |
| 7 | Lee | Â Â Â Â Â Â 718,679 | 823 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 34.35 |
| 8 | Pinellas | Â Â Â Â Â Â 957,875 | 649 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 20.33 |
| 9 | Collier | Â Â Â Â Â Â 363,922 | 490 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 40.39 |
| 10 | Manatee | Â Â Â Â Â Â 373,853 | 451 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 36.19 |
| 11 | Osceola | Â Â Â Â Â Â 338,619 | 431 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 38.18 |
| 12 | Escambia | Â Â Â Â Â Â 311,522 | 419 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 40.35 |
| 13 | Volusia | Â Â Â Â Â Â 527,634 | 377 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 21.44 |
| 14 | Polk | Â Â Â Â Â Â 724,777 | 369 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 15.27 |
| 15 | Seminole | Â Â Â Â Â Â 455,086 | 334 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 22.02 |
| 16 | Sarasota | Â Â Â Â Â Â 412,144 | 304 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 22.13 |
| 17 | Clay | Â Â Â Â Â Â 207,291 | 260 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 37.63 |
| 18 | Alachua | Â Â Â Â Â Â 263,148 | 229 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 26.11 |
| 19 | Brevard | Â Â Â Â Â Â 601,942 | 226 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 11.26 |
| 20 | Pasco | Â Â Â Â Â Â 510,593 | 221 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 12.98 |
Top 10 Counties Per Capita (min 200)
| Rank | County | Population | Cases | Per 30K |
| 1 | Dade | Â Â Â 2,715,516 | 10356 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 114.41 |
| 2 | Broward | Â Â Â 1,924,229 | 4315 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 67.27 |
| 3 | Palm Beach | Â Â Â 1,446,277 | 2468 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 51.19 |
| 4 | Collier | Â Â Â Â Â Â 363,922 | 490 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 40.39 |
| 5 | Escambia | Â Â Â Â Â Â 311,522 | 419 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 40.35 |
| 6 | Osceola | Â Â Â Â Â Â 338,619 | 431 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 38.18 |
| 7 | Clay | Â Â Â Â Â Â 207,291 | 260 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 37.63 |
| 8 | Manatee | Â Â Â Â Â Â 373,853 | 451 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 36.19 |
| 9 | Lee | Â Â Â Â Â Â 718,679 | 823 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 34.35 |
| 10 | Duval | Â Â Â Â Â Â 924,229 | 937 | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 30.41 |
Testing Update
Inweekly has heard that the Ascension Sacred Heart mobile unit has tested more than 900 residents and staff at nursing homes so far this week. Unfortunately the results may not be back before the County Commission meets to vote on opening the beaches.
No testing – other than in hospital settings – is being done today.
Oops
In our first post of the day, we reported on an April 18 email by Jimmy Maddrey, interim EMS manager for the county, to his field personnel that stated the Department of Health had informed him that “at least 15 nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Escambia County have patients that tested positive for COVID-19.” Read PR EMS COVID.
Earlier the same day, FDOH had published a list of infected long-term facilities that only listed 11 for Escambia.
Inweekly has ask DOH Escambia to provide the names of the facilities that were missing from the state list.
The DOH Escambia responded: “The Florida Department of Health’s long-term care facilities list contains data that represent COVID-19 positive reports in staff and residents from long-term care facilities in Florida from March 2, 2020 to date. Currently, there are 11 long-term care facilities listed in Escambia County. This list is the best source for up-to-date information regarding long-term care facilities that have or have had COVID-19 cases.”
The DOH Escambia PIO added, “For questions related to Jimmy Maddrey’s email, please contact Escambia County’s public information office at cmr@myescambia.com.”
So we did. The Escambia County PIO wrote: “Jimmy (Maddrey) had heard about the nursing homes from someone in passing and did not reference official data. The number he wrote is inaccurate.”
The purpose for the daily Situation Reports (SitRep) is to prevent miscommunications. The SitRep should have the most recent data readily available every day. The LTC, nursing home and ALF data should have be included on the SitReps.
Also regular press briefings would help.
Covid-19 Cases in State Prison Inch Up
Corrections officials said Wednesday that 136 inmates and 102 corrections workers have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of 17 cases from a Tuesday report. The highly contagious novel coronavirus has caused four inmate deaths and has been detected in 56 prisons and four probation offices across the state, according to the Department of Corrections.
The majority of inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19 are in three prisons: Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Milton, Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach and Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell.
At the Daytona Beach facility, 47 inmates and seven prison workers tested positive for the virus as of Wednesday, officials said. Sumter Correctional Institution had 42 inmates, a jump from 31 cases a day before, and four employees who tested positive for COVID-19.
Four inmates at the Blackwater prison in Santa Rosa County have died from complications of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The Milton prison, which is operated by The Geo Group Inc., had 43 inmates and 10 workers who tested positive for the virus as of Wednesday, corrections officials said.
Across the state, 4,258 inmates have been placed in medical isolation or medical quarantine after being exposed to the virus. The vast majority of the inmates who have been exposed — 4,186 cases — were in medical quarantine, a practice used to separate people who came into close contact with others who tested positive for the virus or who were symptomatic, corrections officials said.
According to Wednesday’s corrections department report, 387 Florida prisoners have been tested for the virus, with 18 percent of test results pending. Agency officials have not disclosed how many employees have undergone testing. Florida’s prison system, the third largest in the nation, has roughly 94,000 inmates, 23,000 workers and 145 facilities.