Alachua County reached 600 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths Thursday.
There are 20 new cases and a death, according to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard. The percent of positive tests also increased to 1.85 percent. This rise mirrors the recent statewide jump in COVID-19 cases.
Florida had a single day increase of 3,207 cases Thursday, the largest jump in cases in a single day.
The latest reported death in Alachua County is of an elderly woman diagnosed with COVID-19 after being hospitalized, said Paul Myers, an administrator at the county health department.
Last week, Alachua County reported its largest daily increase of cases after 67 people in a farm community tested positive for the virus. Myers told The Alligator that 90 of the 100 farm workers have now tested positive for COVID-19.
The workers, who aren’t county residents, are still being monitored and supported at a housing facility, Myers said. All needs, such as food, are brought to them where they are housed.
While there are reports that the outbreak originated from a worker who went to Miami-Dade County, Myers said he doesn’t know where this information is from.
“It’s almost impossible for me to tell where they were infected and who they were infected by,” he said.
Contact Grethel at gaguila@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @GrethelAguila
