COVID-19 in Marion: 41 new school cases in one week, 713 new cases countywide in two weeks
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Marion County Public Schools was 41 for the week ending May 20, the same as the previous week, though still far below the record 1,014 omicron cases in January.
The total for seven days was 27 for the week ending May 6, 11 for April 23-29, 11 for April 16-22, nine for April 9-15 and six for April 2-8.
The district has seen a vast overall decline in cases since January. There were 513 for Jan. 29-Feb. 4, and the one-week record for school cases was 1,014 for Jan. 15-21.
April 30-May 6:27 new cases reported for week ending May 6
April 23-29: 11 for week ending April 29
April 16-22: Seven new cases for week ending April 22
The latest school report showed that 31 students and 10 employees tested positive for COVID-19 during the week ending May 20. The number of people placed in quarantine decreased to 91 (81 students and 10 employees) for the same period. The total was 172 for the week of May 7-13, 104 for April 30-May 6, and 28 for April 23-29.
To put the low quarantine numbers in perspective, the total was 1,766 for Jan. 22-28, 1,843 for Jan. 15-21 and 2,219 for Jan. 8-14.
The record for weekly quarantines, which was set during the Delta wave in Marion County schools, was 3,404 in mid-August 2021.
The latest numbers for all of Marion County
For all of Marion County, 713 cases were recorded for May 6-19, up from 516 cases for April 22-May 5, 280 for April 8-21, 160 for March 25-April 7 and 123 for March 11-24. The state now releases case numbers every two weeks, with the next report due June 3.
The Marion County weekly record of 5,536 cases was reported for Jan. 7-13, just a month after the total was 146 for Dec. 3-9. The total number of Marion residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 is now 84,833.
Marion County registered 19 hospitalizations in the past week
Marion County's seven-day total of new COVID-19 hospitalizations was 19 on Monday, down from 20 on May 16 and up from 13 on May 9 and 18 on May 2, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Last fall, during a spike attributed to the delta variant, the record hit 350. In the past two weeks, the CDC reported that fewer than 10 Marion residents were added to the death toll from COVID-19. The total number of Marion deaths is about 2,100.
The seven-day positivity rate for Marion County was 11.7% on Monday, up from 10.95% on May 16, 9.81% on May 9 and 6.27% on May 2.
Mark Lander, head of the Florida Department of Health in Marion County, said: "We’ve seen enough of COVID-19 after more than two years to know that it tends to be seasonal."
"The upswing in our community as we approach summer is also happening in many other parts of Florida and across the country,” Lander noted. “But the new data also suggest that our community should continue to work on reducing the spread."
Local vaccine statistics
As of May 23, 236,580 Marion County residents have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, up 260 when compared to May 16. Of those, 98,076 had both shots and a booster, 403 more than a week ago, according to state data.
The CDC report shows that on May 23, 74.4% of Marion residents ages 18 and older have had at least one dose of the vaccine, while 72.4% of Marion residents ages 12 and older, and 68% of residents ages 5 and older have had at least one dose.
Meanwhile, 91.9% of residents ages 65 and older have had at least one dose as of May 23. The data shows that 64.7% of Marion's entire population has had at least one dose.
— Contact Joe Callahan at (352) 817-1750 or at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala, Florida schools had 41 new COVID cases for week ending May 20
