COVID cases in Marion County continue to fall, quarantines up in students

By Matthew Cretul

matthew@ocalagazette.com

COVID numbers in Marion County fell yet again last week as the county registered 151 new cases, according to figures released by the Florida Department of Health Friday evening, down from 230 cases the previous week.

Not only did total new cases drop, but both the county’s positivity rate and cases per 100,000 also fell. The positivity rate dropped from 4.4% to 3.3% and the cases per 100,000 went from 61.8 to 40.5.

State trends mirrored what was seen in Marion County, with the State of Florida recorded 11,069 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, continuing a downward trend in cases that began on Aug. 13.

Vaccination rates dropped after rising two weeks ago, as the state recorded administering 307,629 doses.

County hospitalization numbers were unavailable as data from the Health and Human Services has not been updated since Nov. 1.

Marion County Public Schools (MCPS) recorded 16 total new cases for the week of Oct. 30 – Nov. 5, as 14 students and 2 employees were confirmed COVID-19 positive by the Florida Department of Health in Marion County. The figures, released Monday evening, are down slightly from the 18 cases reported on both Oct. 25 and Nov. 1.

Students in quarantine rose however, with MCPS reporting 125 students were quarantined due to direct contact with someone testing positive for COVID-19, up from the 57 reported last week. There were no employees reportedly in quarantine in the latest report.