Marion COVID numbers see slight increase, Omicron appears

Nurses test people for COVID-19 during the Florida Department of Health Marion County drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion on Northeast Jacksonville Road in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. The Department of Health is now testing for the coronavirus at the Livestock Pavilion from Tuesdays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. People who want to get tested are no longer required to make an appointment and are tested on a first-come-first-serve basis. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Marion County Update

COVID numbers in Marion County rose slightly last week as the county registered 145 new cases according to figures released by the Florida Department of Health Tuesday evening. The county reported 129 cases two weeks ago.

Along with rising cases, both the county’s positivity rate and cases per 100,000 also rose. The positivity rate went from 2.6% to 2.9%, and the cases per 100,000 went from 34.6 to 38.9 as well.

County hospitalization numbers were unavailable as data from the Health and Human Services has not been updated since Nov. 20.

COVID Test FL is offering testing in Ocala at the Ocala First Baptist Church located at 2801 SE Maricamp Road. COVID Test Express is offering testing in the Villages at 11714 NE 62^nd Terrace. Both locations are open Monday-Friday 8am-4pm. 

State Update

While cases rose in Marion County, they dropped across the state as a whole, with the State of Florida recording 9,663 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Nov. 19 to Nov. 25. Florida has now seen a drop in cases in nine of the last ten weeks.

Statewide, vaccines numbers continue to rise in children ages 5-11, as the state reported 137,250 doses of the vaccine were administered last week compared to the 103,522 doses given two weeks ago. The total population of children ages 5-11 in the state is just under 1.7 million, and figures showed 8% of them are now vaccinated against COVID-19.

The state’s overall vaccination rates, however, dropped last to their lowest levels in five weeks. The state recorded administering 423,386 doses during the week of Nov. 19 to Nov. 25, bringing the population of the state vaccinated to 69% of those ages 5 and up, up a percentage from two weeks ago.

Omicron

The omicron variant was discovered over the Thanksgiving holiday, prompting the World Health Organization to label it a “variant of concern.” More than 40 countries have banned travel to South Africa since Omicron was first detected.

Despite the ban, the new variant has been detected in 16 countries. At this point, the United States is not one of them; although Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested over the weekend there is a good chance that the variant is already present in the U.S.

Virologists are unsure how the new variant will interact with the vaccine, and what, if any, coverage the vaccines will offer.

MCPS Update

Marion County Public Schools COVID numbers have not yet been updated to include the most recent week, the week of Nov. 20 – 26. As a result, the latest numbers posted cover the week of Nov. 13 – Nov. 19.

During that span, MCPS reported 15 total new cases as 13 students and two employees were confirmed COVID-19 positive by the Florida Department of Health in Marion County.

While cases held steady from previous reports, students and MCPS employees in quarantine dropped drastically, with MCPS reporting 67 students and no employees were quarantined due to direct contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19, down from the 195 reported three weeks ago.