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The number of COVID-19 school cases was only seven for the week ending April 22, down from nine for the previous week, according to the Marion County Public Schools’ weekly report.
The total for seven days was six for week ending April 15 and four for each week ending April 1 and March 25. The number was 26 for the week ending March 11.
The district had been seeing a steady decline in cases. There were 513 for Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 248 for Feb. 5-11, 108 for Feb. 12-18 and 55 for Feb. 19-25.
April 9-15: Cases tick up, but far below surge levels
April 2-8: Cases up, but far below surge levels
March 12-25: Four new weekly cases marks lowest total in 2 years
The one-week record for school cases was 1,014 for Jan. 15-21. The latest school report showed that six students and one employee tested positive for COVID-19 during the week ending April 22.
The number of people placed in quarantine increase to 20 for the week ending April 22. The total was one for the week ending April 15. The number of quarantines was seven for March 26-April 1 and seven for March 19-25.
To put the low quarantine numbers in perspective, the total was 1,766 for Jan. 22-28, 1,843 for Jan. 15-21 and 2,219 for Jan. 8-14.
The record for weekly quarantines, which was set during the Delta wave in Marion County schools, was 3,404 in mid-August 2021.
For all of Marion County, 280 cases were recorded for April 8-21, up from 160 for March 25-April 7 and 123 for March 11-24.
The state now releases case numbers every two weeks, with the next report due out May 6.
The Marion County weekly record of 5,536 cases was reported for Jan. 7-13, just a month after the total was 146 for Dec. 3-9. The total number of Marion residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 is now 83,604.
Marion County hospitalizations ticked up to 13 in the past week
Marion County’s seven-day total of new COVID-19 hospitalizations was 13, up from 11 on April 18 and nine on April 11. The number is still down from 23 on March 28 and 42 on March 14, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Last fall, during a spike attributed to the delta variant, the record hit 350. In the past two weeks, the CDC reported that fewer than 10 Marion residents were added to the death toll from COVID-19. The total number of Marion deaths is about 2,060.
The seven-day positivity rate for Marion County was 4.85% on Monday, up from 4.47% on April 18, and 2.69% on April 11. It is up from 1.45% on March 28 and 2.61% on March 14, but much lower than the record of 34.59% on Jan. 31, according to CDC.
“The recent increase (in cases) is not a major cause for concern at this point, relative to what the community experienced earlier this year with omicron,” said Mark Lander, administrator for the Florida Department of Health in Marion.
Lander said the agency will continue monitoring the uptick.
“But with this uptick in both cases and the positivity rate, we encourage the community to be mindful of steps that can help reduce the spread,” he noted. “Those include frequent hand-washing and practicing good, overall personal hygiene, staying home if you don’t feel well, and adopting some changes to create a healthier lifestyle.”
As of April 25, 235,489 Marion County residents have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, up 321 when compared to April 18. Of those, 96,447 had both shots and a booster, 573 more than a week ago, according to state data.
The CDC report shows that on April 25, 74.1% of Marion residents ages 18 and older have had at least one dose of the vaccine, 72.1% of Marion residents ages 12 and older have had one dose, and 67.7% of residents ages 5 and older have had at least one dose.
Meanwhile, 91.5% of residents ages 65 and older have had at least one dose, as of April 25. The data shows that 64.4% of Marion’s entire population has had at least one dose.
— Contact Joe Callahan at (352) 817-1750 or at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.
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