Marion County is in the midst of a record-high COVID-19 positivity rate spike according to an official with the Florida Department of Health in Marion County.
Deputy Secretary Mark Lander provided the information as part of a COVID-19 update during the Marion County Board of County Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday, August 3.
Lander says that the county’s COVID-19 positivity rate was 24.5% last week. The case rate, which is the number of cases per week per 100,000 residents, was 505. He says that’s the highest it has been since January, when it was 525 per 100,000 residents.
Lander says that last week, the county registered 1,881 cases, up from 1,056 the week before. He says that majority of new cases in Marion County are from residents between the ages of 25 and 54, and that hospitalizations have shifted to younger demographics.
Around 80% of Marion County seniors over the age of 65 are vaccinated. Lander says that a much lower vaccination rate among younger residents correlates with an increase in hospitalizations and new cases among that demographic.
During his remarks, Lander praised county commissioners for agreeing to reopen the COVID-19 testing site at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion.
Although the facility currently operates one day a week, Lander says the health department and county will evaluate the need to expand to additional days after demand at this level for a few weeks.
“We still control this,” said Lander in reference to the county’s overall response. He indicated that health department officials and county staff had met weeks before to develop a strategy for “worst case scenarios” going forward.
“Where we go from here is really up to us,” said Lander.