COVID cases more than triple in St. Johns County compared to previous week

Nikki Ross and Mike Stucka, St. Augustine Record
·7 min read

New coronavirus cases soared in St. Johns County in the week ending Sunday, hitting 517, a 242% increase from the 151 cases reported the previous week, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University.

This comes as the omicron variant, which entered the United States earlier this month, caused cases to skyrocket in Florida, increasing 332.9% with 124,865 cases reported in the week ending Sunday. Florida reported 28,841 new coronavirus cases the previous week.

Already the variant has shown to be highly contagious, but with a milder illness than its predecessor, the delta variant, according to hospital officials.

Looking back at 2021: Could the new COVID-19 variant require St. Johns County to mask up again?

COVID vaccine cocktails: A guide to mixing and matching Pfizer, Moderna, J&J booster shots

Florida ranked ninth among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States increased 47% from the week before, with 1,388,833 cases reported. With 6.45% of the country's population, Florida had 8.99% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 26 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Christmas significantly disrupted who got tested, how many people got tested, what labs operated and what government agencies reported on time. Some cases and deaths that would have been reported last week might be reported in the coming week, which itself will have testing and reporting disrupted by New Year's. Consequently week-to-week comparisons will be skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

COVID case surge in Florida counties

When reached for comment on Monday, the Florida Department of Health in St. Johns County told The Record that Noreen Nickola-Williams, director of the office of public health practice and policy, was out of the office and all media calls must go through her. A voicemail and email were not returned by publication.

Volusia County reported 974 new COVID-19 cases last week, a 231% increase from the previous week when 294 cases were reported.

"Reported cases have tripled and the positivity rate has doubled," according to the Florida Department of Health - Volusia County in an emailed statement about COVID-19 trends over the past month. "This variant is much more infectious than previous variants, so preventative measures are critical to minimizing the risk of exposure."

FDOH - Volusia County reported a 50% increase in COVID-19 testing within the past week.

The latest: COVID in Florida: State records nearly 33,000 new cases, setting second one-day record in a row

More: COVID surge in Florida: Cases rise 332.9% in one week, state among fastest-spreading in US

Flagler County reported 173 new cases this past week, a 134% increase from the previous week's 74 new cases.

"If you are not vaccinated, this is a good time to get vaccinated to avoid serious infection," said Gretchen Smith, spokeswoman for the FDOH- Flagler County in an emailed statement. "And if it’s been six months since your last dose, please get a booster."

Since closing its testing sites over the holiday weekend, Smith said it's hard to say how much of an increase the local health department has seen in COVID-19 testing.

"I stopped over at the testing site this morning and they were very busy," Smith said Monday. "We are only testing Monday and Wednesday this week and will be closed Dec. 30 through Jan 2."

But there could be more testing opportunities next week.

"We evaluate every week based on demand," Smith said. "I’m fairly certain we will return to testing at least three days next week. When I know for sure I will add to our website."

Brevard County reported 1,214 cases in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 298 cases. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 84,393 cases.

Florida does not directly publish county-level death data.

Within Florida, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis included:

• Miami-Dade County with 1,930 COVID cases per 100,000 per week

• Broward County with 1,205

• Palm Beach County with 789

The federal Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall:

• Miami-Dade County, with 52,435 cases

• Broward County, with 23,532 cases

• Palm Beach County, with 11,812

Weekly case counts rose in 63 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

What is COVID vaccination rate for Florida?

Florida ranked 19th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 74% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 72.7%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Thursday, Florida reported administering another 605,070 vaccine doses, including 137,227 first doses. In the previous week, the state-administered 827,240 vaccine doses, including 170,549 first doses. In all, Florida reported it has administered 33,172,989 total doses.

These Florida counties had a decline in COVID cases

Across Florida, cases fell in four counties, with the best declines in Liberty County, with four cases from 10 a week earlier; in Franklin County, with three cases from eight; and in Gilchrist County, with eight cases from 11.

How many in Florida tested positive, how many died from coronavirus?

Florida reported 127 COVID-19 deaths in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 194 people were reported dead.

A total of 3,907,748 people in Florida have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 62,347 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States, 52,280,854 people have tested positive and 816,609 people have died.

Florida's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Dec. 26.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 4,979

  • The week before that: 3,039

  • Four weeks ago: 2,177

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 99,084

  • The week before that: 90,677

  • Four weeks ago: 76,315

St. Johns COVID-19 hospitalizations

  • Flagler Hospital this week: 3

  • Flagler Hospital last week: 4

Volusia/Flagler COVID-19 hospitalizations

  • AdventHealth Central Florida on Monday: 145

    • Volusia/Flagler hospitals: 40

  • AdventHealth Central Florida last week: 100

  • Halifax Health Monday: 3

  • Halifax Health last week: average of 10 per day

Flagler Hospital in St. Johns County did not respond to requests for comments by noon Monday.

Hospitals in 18 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 28 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

Where to get a COVID test

  • Urgent care centers (by appointment only, not free, must pay for office visit)

  • CVS (free, by appointment only)

  • Walgreens (free, by appointment only)

  • The St. Johns County COVID-19 testing site at the Wind Mitigation Building is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and will be closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. For information, visit mdc.nomihealth.com/signup/fl/sjac.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

Nikki Ross covers K-12 education, health and COVID-19 for the Daytona Beach News-Journal. She can be reached at nikki.ross@news-jrnl.com or follow her on Twitter @nikkiinreallife.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: COVID in Florida: St. Johns County cases more than triple this week