Inweekly has received notes from people who have loved ones in local nursing homes. The facilities we named today aren’t the only ones with residents and employees who have tested positive.
Our hope is both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties will convince the nursing homes to voluntarily report the status of their facilities, as they do in Broward and other counties. The Department of Health isn’t going to do it.
Any numbers we gather will published on this blog. According to the latest report from DOH, Escambia County has 49 cases in local long-term care facilities- 10 more than last night.
Unfortunately, the SitRep report for  today still makes no mention of the cases or the  infected facilities. A person reading the report would be unaware of the problem. The purpose of the SitRep is to let all ESFs know what is happening, not cover it up. Read COVID-19 Escambia County SITREP 4-15-2020.
Escambia only added 14 cases in the past 24 hours —as stated above, 10 of them were in nursing homes.
When the county begin posting accurate information on the LTCs in SitReps as it did before Inweekly began asking questions? Â The SitRep shouldn’t be a political document.
When you read the SitRep report for 4/15, note that the ESP 8 PIO’s report states: “Continuing to provide messaging and minimize rumors.”
I would suggest the best messaging and recommended ways to minimize rumors are to provide facts and hold press briefings. It has worked for every hurricane, flood, oil spill and disaster in past 20 years.  The “updates” aren’t cutting it.
| 4/14/20 | 4/15/20 | |||
| 6 p.m. | 6 p.m. | Increase | ||
| Total Cases | 21628 | 22519 | 891 | 4.12% |
| Florida Residents | 20984 | 21865 | 881 | 4.20% |
| Non-Fla. | 644 | 654 | 10 | 1.55% |
| Deaths | 571 | 614 | 43 | 7.53% |
| Escambia | 247 | 261 | 14 | 5.67% |
| Okaloosa | 104 | 107 | 3 | 2.88% |
| Santa Rosa | 114 | 115 | 1 | 0.88% |
| Broward | 3261 | 3363 | 102 | 3.13% |
| Esc LTC cases | 39 | 49 | 10 | 25.64% |
Testing by Day
Hospital testing increased yesterday – 101 for 4/14, the second highest day for hospitals. Â Of the 6063 specimens collected, we have received results on 3975 – 65.6%. Â Of test results received, 254 were positive – 6.4%.
BY THE NUMBERS: CORONAVIRUS — WEDNESDAY EVENING EDITION
April 15, 2020
By NSF Staff
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Health released updated numbers Wednesday evening about the coronavirus in the state. Here are some takeaways:
— 22,519: Total number of cases.
— 438: Increase in cases from a Wednesday morning count.
— 614: Deaths of Florida residents.
— 23: Increase in deaths from a Wednesday morning count.
— 1,332: Cases involving residents or staff members of long-term care facilities.
— 110: Increase in long-term care cases from a Wednesday morning count.
— 122: Deaths involving residents or staff members of long-term care facilities.
— 26: Deaths involving long-term care facilities in Miami-Dade County.
— 24: Deaths involving long-term care facilities in Palm Beach County.
— 19: Deaths involving long-term care facilities in Broward County.
— 507: Deaths involving people 65 or older.
— 82.6: Percentage of deaths involving people 65 or older.
Source: Florida Department of Health