COVID-19 in Marion County: 1,869 new cases reported in 2 weeks, down 20.6% since July 29

Joe Callahan, Ocala Star-Banner
·3 min read

The number of new Marion County COVID-19 cases is beginning to drop, with 1,869 new cases reported for the two-week period ending Aug. 11, according to the Florida Department of Health's bi-weekly report released on Friday.

That number, a total accumulated from July 29-Aug. 11, is down from 2,354 from July 15-28, 2,172 from July 1-14 and 1,907 for June 17-30.

The Florida Department of Health in Marion County said that for the week of Aug. 12-18 there were 876 COVID-19 cases, down from 1,182 for the week of July 22-28 and 1,199 for the week of July 8-14.

The total number of new cases has declined by 20.6% in the past two weeks.

Though the number of cases has more than tripled since mid-May, the numbers are still far from Marion's record: Marion's one-week record was 5,336 cases, or an average of 462 cases per day, for the week of Jan. 7-13. Marion County registered an average of 168 cases per day in the past two weeks.

July 29: 2,354 new cases reported in 2 weeks, up 8.4% since July 15

Summer threat: Cases up 37.3% in two weeks, though far below record in January

March low: Marion County COVID-19 community level drops to low; state switches to biweekly reporting

There have been 49 new deaths reported since the July 29 report. In all, Marion County now has recorded 95,854 COVID-19 infections and 2,221 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.

How many hospitalized this week?

Another indicator that the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron subvariant BA.2, is spreading rapidly, is hospitalizations.

On Friday, 105 people had been hospitalized with COVID-19 in the past week, the same as on July 29. The number was 89 on July 15 and 29 on June 1. The record was 350 weekly hospitalizations recorded last fall.

As of Aug. 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was reporting Marion County’s community transmission risk as high, up from medium two months ago.

The local health department issued a press release on Friday that states the agency "encourages our community members to take steps to reduce the spread of the virus as much as possible."

What's the positivity rate?

The seven-day positivity rate for Marion County was listed on Friday at 19%, down from 21.27% on July 29 and 25.57% on July 15, though up from 6.3% on May 2, according to the CDC.

Ocala Fire Rescue Capt. Brian Cribbs reads an empty Pfizer vaccine vial during a COVID-19 vaccination event in 2021.
Ocala Fire Rescue Capt. Brian Cribbs reads an empty Pfizer vaccine vial during a COVID-19 vaccination event in 2021.

Aug. 12 data shows that 239,169 Marion County residents have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, up 364 when compared to July 29. Of those, 101,376 had both shots and a booster, 384 more than on July 29, according to state data.

The CDC report shows that on July 29, 75% of Marion residents ages 18 and older have had at least one dose of the vaccine, while 73.1% of Marion residents ages 12 and older, and 68.7% of residents ages 5 and older, have had at least one dose.

Meanwhile, 92.5% of residents ages 65 and older have had at least one dose as of July 29. The data shows that 65.4% 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: COVID-19 in Marion County: 1,869 new cases reported in 2 weeks