Coronavirus positives in Bradenton and Hillsborough Counties (Miami, Fort Lauderdale: layoffs, high schools)

[wondermint2]

Vaping makes teens 5 times more likely to get infected with COVID-19
https://news.yahoo.com/vaping-makes-...214718416.html

Teens who smoke or vape may be putting themselves at higher risk of getting the coronavirus, says a new study out of Stanford University. “Our findings from a national sample of adolescents and young adults show that e-cigarette use and dual-use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes are significant underlying risk factors for COVID-19 that has previously not been shown,” the authors write.

Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health this week, the study was conducted using an online survey of 4,351 teens and young adults in the U.S. ranging in age from 13 to 24. All 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories were represented by the group, and the researchers adjusted the sample for “confounding factors” such as obesity, race/ethnicity, sex and compliance with stay-at-home orders.

A COVID-19 diagnosis, the authors found, was five times more likely among those who used e-cigarettes — and seven times more likely among those who used both e-cigarettes and cigarettes. Individuals who had used e-cigarettes and cigarettes in the past 30 days were nearly five times more likely to show symptoms of the virus.

[wondermint2]

Miami is a proving ground for rapid COVID tests. Experts say results should be checked
https://www.bradenton.com/news/coron...244857997.html

At the peak of Florida’s July COVID surge, state officials flooded Miami-Dade County’s state-run testing sites with rapid diagnostics designed to be used only on people with symptoms. The tests, which identify a protein on the virus called an “antigen,” are less sensitive than the tests more commonly used, called PCR tests, but antigen tests can produce results in minutes rather than days.

Was the trade off worth it?

Florida health officials are still figuring it out, and Miami-Dade has become a proving ground for the tests.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

Statewide, Florida’s Department of Health reported a positivity rate of 11.89% for Tuesday, the second-highest in two weeks, but that’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive. For all cases including retests of those previously infected, yesterday’s positivity rate was 16.5%, the highest in two weeks.

Apparently (according to the Florida Department Of Health) there was a "reporting glitch" yesterday for Covid-19 cases in Florida. Thus they are claiming the case count for yesterday was "inflated". IMO this a bit weird and I can only base my models on the public information that they provide. Still this doesn't really change my opinion that we're in the process of rounding into a bottom for new Covid-19 cases.

Reporting glitch upends confidence in Florida Covid-19 data
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...es/ar-BB17T1ke

A confidence crisis that has plagued Florida's COVID-19 reporting system deepened on Wednesday when state health officials said half of the roughly 8,000 new cases it tallied in its latest update were from tests that were taken as long as seven weeks ago.

Blaming a Miami lab for dumping more than 4,000 positive tests in one day, the Florida Department of Health tweeted that Wednesday's results were "skewed" particularly in Miami-Dade County. Some of the tests were taken as far back as June 23, it said.

The acknowledgment of the glitch created a Twitter firestorm, with some people blasting Gov. Ron DeSantis' handling of the pandemic and others questioning how any of the numbers released by the state could be trusted.

It provided ammunition for those who believe the state is intentionally under-reporting the number of cases to keep the economy humming.

Rebekah Jones, who created the state's once lauded COVID-19 dashboard and then claimed she was fired when she refused to manipulate the data, was among those who weighed in on her former employer's latest misstep.

"I'm shocked, SHOCKED I SAY! Thousands of cases went missing during the weeks leading up to July 4?? And during the peak crisis??? SHOCKED! SHOCCKKKKKEEEEDDDDD!!!!!!!" Jones tweeted.

[wondermint2]

Thousands of students, staff sent home nationwide as COVID snarls school reopenings
https://news.yahoo.com/thousands-stu...090706898.html

"The U.S. attempt to return children to the classroom this fall has turned into a slow-motion train wreck, with at least 2,400 students and staff either infected with COVID-19 or self-isolating because of exposure, and the vast majority of large school districts opting to go online this summer amid rising cases of the virus.

President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have mostly waved off the situation unraveling this week in states like Georgia, Alabama, Indiana and Tennessee, where schools opened their doors after a months-long hiatus due to the pandemic -- only to quickly backtrack as soon as infections popped back up."

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by wondermint2

On August 9th Sarasota County had a spike downward in new cases to only 27 new cases for the day. This was 65% below the previous weeks daily average number of cases (76.4). I suspect that on a daily chart the 27 new cases in Sarasota County reported for August 9th could turn out to be the exact bottom for this wave down.

We saw a large increase in new Covid-19 cases for Sarasota County today (see link below). This tends to confirm my opinion that on the daily chart the 27 new cases reported on August 9th (for Sarasota County) was the bottom for this wave down. That being said there can be a lot of variation in the day to day numbers - which is why we look at the weekly charts to confirm the direction of the trend. I do the weekly charts on Sundays - and as of this past Sunday the weekly charts were still in a downtrend. (My opinion is that the weekly charts are going to be bottoming out soon).

Sarasota County’s COVID-19 case numbers rose by 125 on Friday, the highest single-day increase since July 31
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...ay/3375076001/

The Florida Department of Health announced 6,148 new cases of COVID-19 in the state on Friday, bringing the state’s total infections to 563,285 since the pandemic began.

The state reported 228 new deaths Friday; a total of 9,141 Florida residents have died from coronavirus during the pandemic. Friday's numbers represent new recorded deaths that may have happened over multiple days.

Manatee County had three new deaths reported since Thursday, for a total of 245. Sarasota County reported seven new deaths, raising the toll to 174.

Sarasota County’s COVID-19 case numbers rose by 125, the highest single-day increase since July 31, for a total of 6,604. Manatee County had 108 new cases, the highest since Aug. 6, for a total of 9,662.

According to a state database, in Sarasota County 81 people are currently hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19. In Manatee County, 67 are hospitalized. Statewide, 5,905 are hospitalized, a downward trend.

[wondermint2]

Florida and its teachers union head to mediation over reopening schools under COVID-19
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fl...19/ar-BB17Yg4F

Attorneys for the state and the statewide teachers union will head to mediation next week over the reopening of Florida’s brick-and-mortar schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson denied the state’s motion to dismiss the Florida Education Association’s lawsuit against Executive Order 6, which calls for in-person instruction five days a week. He required the two sides to go to mediation by Tuesday.

“This is a case that cries out for the parties to get together at this mediation and come up with an agreement,’ Dodson said, calling it a “complicated” case. “Between the governor and the education commissioner and the plaintiffs, I’m confident that if y’all work really hard you can do that and I’m very hopeful that you can. It’s a case that really needs that very badly.”

A hearing has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

[wondermint2]

DeSantis says Florida schools with coronavirus cases shouldn't be quick to shut down again
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/n...15/3374892001/

SARASOTA -- Continuing his push to reopen schools Friday during an event in Sarasota, Gov. Ron DeSantis emphasized the mental health ramifications of keeping children at home and said schools shouldn't be quick to shut down again if they have a coronavirus infection.

Schools in other states have opened and then quickly closed again because of coronavirus outbreaks among students, raising the question of how Florida districts will deal with cases of infected students and teachers.

DeSantis said he expects school districts to take each outbreak on a "case by case basis" and endorsed a more "surgical approach" that doesn't lead to automatic school closures.

"I've been able to talk to a number of superintendents who have already started this week and I think they're approaching it very smartly," DeSantis said after a roundtable discussion on mental health issues at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. "Somebody is on a school bus and they're ill then you send them home, and if parents have a child that's ill then you keep them home."

DeSantis added that: "I think doing a more surgical approach like that makes much more sense than just if one person's sick you shutdown the whole school. I don't think that's how a lot of these districts are going to approach it; I think it'll be on a case by case basis."

[wondermint2]

I'm thinking the increased depression (see link below) unfortunately is going to lead to another round of "caution fatigue" regarding Covid-19. Although more people will likely be wearing masks this time - mobility data suggests people are venturing out again. This along with school reopenings are reasons why I'm expecting the Covid-19 downtrend in our area to bottom out soon.

Pandemic has driven Americans to depression and drinking, CDC says
https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-i...170026332.html

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic has led to a marked deterioration in Americans’ mental health, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study made public on Thursday. That study, which surveyed 5,412 Americans, found that “40.9% of respondents reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health condition.”

According to the new study, 31 percent of respondents were suffering from symptoms of anxiety or depression; 26 percent experienced symptoms of traumatic disorder; 13 percent were using drugs or alcohol more heavily, or for the first time, to cope with the pandemic; and 11 percent had seriously contemplated suicide.

“Younger adults, racial/ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers reported having experienced disproportionately worse” mental health outcomes than other groups, the study concluded.

[Sunshine Rules]

Sarasota Square Mall in foreclosure.


https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...ll/3374671001/


Sarasota Square, which has been known in the past as Westfield Sarasota Square, has not been immune to the challenges faced by shopping malls in recent years, including the rise of online shopping and the decline of department stores. The coronavirus pandemic dealt the retail industry another enormous blow.

[wondermint2]

Economists slash $5.4 billion from expected Florida revenue
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mia...244958930.html

Wearing masks and keeping their distance, Florida’s top economists met Friday to prepare the state’s first post-pandemic revenue estimate, and the conclusion was breathtaking: Florida faces a $5.4 billion budget deficit over the next two years.

The massive number, although just a fraction of the state’s $92.2 billion budget, is the largest gap between revenue forecasts in state history, and will be painful to fill during what economists called, “a pandemic-induced economic contraction.”

Because the state cannot finish its budget year with a deficit, the grim news will likely trigger a special legislative session to rewrite the state’s budget — which was passed in March by a Legislature aware of the pandemic but unwilling to modify its spending plan.

Lawmakers will have to revise the budget to plug the holes. That could mean that millions are likely to be cut from safety net programs, even as people who have lost jobs and health insurance seek more state and federal services.

The economic shock will also lead to increased costs, the forecasters said. Homeowners insurance rates are expected to go up at least 10% this year, particularly in South Florida and coastal areas, and they estimate increases in automobile insurance.