COVID positivity rate rises to 14.7% for Polk County with 1,054 new infections

Gary White, The Ledger
·2 min read
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The positivity rate for COVID-19 testing in Polk County has spiked to 14.7%.

That was the figure in an update released late Friday afternoon by the Florida Department of Health. The agency normally issues statistics on COVID-19 every two weeks but missed the previous week’s update because of the New Year’s holiday.

The positivity rate had been at 10.9% in the Dec. 16 update, the first time it had surpassed 10% since early September.

The positivity rate surged above 20% over the summer but had gradually dropped since August before the recent upward trend began. The rate is based on test results reported to the Department of Health and doesn’t include presumed infections found through home testing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed Polk County's level of community spread for COVID-19 at medium this week, ending a long period at the low level.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed Polk County's level of community spread for COVID-19 at medium this week, ending a long period at the low level.

The state disclosed 1,054 new COVID infections for Polk County from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5. That marked an increase of 35.1% from the last report issued three weeks earlier.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now lists Polk County as medium for community levels of COVID-19, ending a long period in the low category. As of Friday afternoon, the federal agency labeled 14 of Florida’s 67 counties with high community levels, while seven still ranked as low.

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The CDC’s COVID Tracker website reported fewer than 10 COVID-related deaths for Polk County in the seven-day period ending Wednesday. Deaths are a lagging indicator, and there can be long delays in having deaths officially recorded.

The Florida Department of Health disclosed 31,633 new infections statewide, an increase of 40.1% from three weeks earlier. The agency reported Florida’s positivity rate at 17.3%, compared with 13.1% in the previous report.

The agency registered 570 new deaths in Friday’s update, bringing the death toll since 2020 to 84,176. The department does not report deaths by county of residence.

Hospitals in Polk County admitted an estimated 132 patients with confirmed infections in the week ending Wednesday, according to the CDC, an increase of 53% from the previous seven-day period.

Patients with COVID occupied 5.6% of staffed beds and 5% of beds in intensive-care units, the CDC reported.

Among Polk County residents age 5 and older, 63% have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, according to the Department of Health’s update.

The CDC dashboard shows 62.8% of Polk residents as having completing a primary series of vaccinations, while only 8% had received the latest booster dose.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Fla. Dept. of Health: Polk's COVID positivity rate rises to 14.7%