Escambia County COVID-19 Update #238

Please reference the prior updates and Escambia County COVID-19 Update #11 for a prior comprehensive running list. This update only includes new information we have received. Weekend updates will be distributed only when there is new information.

• Hospital Information totals
  • Hospitalizations 139 (current hospitalizations as of 2:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2020)
  • Bed Capacity 1,397 (as of 8:55 a.m. Dec. 11, 2020 (county SITREP)
  • Bed Occupancy 1,045 (as of 8:55 a.m. Dec. 11, 2020 (county SITREP) 
  • Beds Available 352 (as of 2:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2020)
  • Total Ventilators 215 (as of 2:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2020)
  • Available Ventilators 143 (as of 2:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2020)

Escambia County Corrections

• Cumulatively, 824 Escambia County inmates have been tested:
  • 213 positive (194 have been medically cleared, and 17 have been released from custody, leaving two active, positive cases at this time)
  • 595 negative
  • 16 pending
• At the Walton County jail, 29 Escambia County inmates tested positive out of the 146 inmates housed there.

• FDOH-Escambia’s testing site is free to all Florida residents with or without symptoms. Pre-screening is not required. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST on Monday, Dec. 14, and Thursday, Dec. 17, at 1300 W. Gregory St. Dates are subject to change due to inclement weather or shortage of supplies. For more information, please visit the dedicated COVID-19 webpage.
• The Florida Department of Health (the Department) issued a Public Health Advisory recommending the following: all individuals in Florida should wear face coverings in any setting where social distancing is not possible, and all individuals should refrain from participation in social or recreational gatherings of more than 10 people.
• As of 2 p.m., Dec. 10, Escambia County has had 18,238 positive COVID-19 cases. This number is expected to change daily due to the return of results from ongoing testing. The best source for up-to-date information regarding confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida is the Florida Department of Health website and the associated Data and Surveillance Dashboard and Daily Report. The site is currently updated once daily, at around 2 p.m. CT.
• The total number of COVID-19 related deaths in Escambia County residents is 328 individuals.
• The Department releases a list of long-term care facilities in Florida associated with COVID-19 cases with active cases and number of deaths in each facility in order to provide real-time data. The list of long-term care facilities with active COVID-19 cases is available here.
• The Department is providing a report detailing surveillance data for every Florida county. Previously, this information was only available for select communities. The surveillance data report is available here.  
• To view demographics of cases in Escambia County, visit the COVID-19 dashboard and select Escambia County. The following case data will appear: age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
• Need extra support dealing with stress and coping during this time? Find a list of available resources at Escambiahealth.com.
• Printable resources for restaurants and businesses can be found on the resources page of the FDOH COVID-19 website. 
• The Florida Department of Health has launched Healthy Together, a mobile app that can help a person view their test results, assess their symptoms and learn what to do after they have been tested for COVID-19. The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store by searching for “Healthy Together”. Individuals whose results are uploaded into Healthy Together with a phone number will automatically receive a text notifying them that their results are available in the app.

• FDOH-Escambia is following the Department of Health’s newly issued COVID-19 quarantine options for close contacts to COVID-19 cases. These options are adapted from the CDC’s updates. 

Food and Drug Administration

• The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend that the FDA approve the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. The committee approval paves the way for the vaccine to be granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the FDA. Once the vaccine is granted the EUA, it may be distributed publicly.
• The same committee will meet on Thursday, Dec. 17, to discuss the recommendation for EUA for the vaccine produced by Moderna.

Governor's Update

• Governor Ron DeSantis issued a video update on the state's COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. He stated the following during his address:
  • The state's initial allocation of the Pfizer vaccine is 179,400, and those likely will be received within a week.
  • The top priority for vaccine recipients is residents of long-term care facilities and health care workers. Once ready for distribution 97,500 doses will go to hospitals for health care workers, 60,450 will be distributed via CVS and Walgreens to long-term care facilities and 21,450 will go to the Florida Department of Health for distribution to long-term care residents.
• Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis announced $23 million in funding to bolster Florida’s mental health services system as well as an additional funding initiative to support first responders who have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 public health emergency. This $23 million in funding, derived from the federal CARES Act, will reinforce mental health support available in Florida and allow the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to continue providing mental health and substance abuse treatment for Floridians in need.