Polk County's COVID-19 positivity rate jumps to 11.9%; highest level since early February

Gary White, The Ledger
·2 min read

Polk County is seeing a pronounced rise in new COVID-19 cases and positive test results following three months of low figures.

The county’s positivity rate had risen to 11.9% as of Thursday, according to a biweekly update released Friday by the Florida Department of Health. The figure had been 8.3% two weeks earlier.

The rate had not been as high as 11.9% for Polk County since early February and had been as low as 1.9% nine weeks earlier.

The Department of Health disclosed 1,757 new confirmed infections in Friday’s report, an increase of 89.3% from two weeks earlier. That followed a rise of 102.6% in the previous state report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Tracker continues to list the community level for Polk County as low. The federal agency changed its formula earlier this year and now uses hospitalizations as a major factor in determining the prevalence of COVID in counties.

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Until recently, the CDC identified all of Florida in the “low” category. As of Monday, the CDC listed 13 Florida counties, including neighboring Hillsborough and Pasco, at medium community levels.

By contrast, the CDC categorizes Polk County as high for community transmission, along with most other counties in Florida. That rating is based on changes in positivity rates from week to week.

As of Monday afternoon, the CDC’s COVID Tracker showed a 63.1% increase in infections for Polk County for the week ending Saturday. The chart reported 11 COVID-related deaths for the same period, a rise of 57.1% from a week earlier.

The Department of Health reported a statewide positivity rate of 13.4% in Friday’s update, compared with 9% two weeks earlier. The agency also disclosed an additional 270 deaths related to the respiratory illness, bringing the state’s cumulative death toll to 74,330 since spring 2020.

The Department of Health ceased reporting COVID deaths by county last year. A website maintained by Dr. Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida, lists Polk County’s death toll at 2,982.

Polk County residents received 255 COVID vaccinations last week, according to the state update, an increase of 46.6% from the previous report. Among those eligible for vaccinations, 67% have received at least one dose, the Department of Health reported.

The CDC describes 61.1% of Polk County residents as fully vaccinated.

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: Polk's COVID positivity rate hits highest level since early February