The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Alachua County has climbed to nearly 70 today.
Just before noon, The Florida Department of Health updated their dashboard to reflect a total of 67 cases in Alachua County, jumping up seven from last night. Around 6:30 p.m., one more case — a 73-year-old male non-resident — was reported, bringing the total to 68. The man’s state of residence isn’t stated.
According to a daily report from the department, the other cases reported today are all Florida residents:
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91-year-old male
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39-year-old male
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60-year-old male
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22-year-old male
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59-year-old female
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21-year-old male
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37-year-old female
The dashboard shows that Alachua County has a total of six hospitalizations and that its largest group of COVID-19 patients falls between the 15-24 age group.
Florida’s total positive cases reached 3,763 this morning, with 3,608 being state residents. Following the department of health’s announcement of 17 new deaths yesterday, the total deaths in the state is now at 54.
On Monday, the county declared a stay-at-home order, ordering all non-essential businesses and gathering places to close and residents to remain in their homes. Despite Florida’s cases continuing to surge, Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to issue a statewide order for residents to stay home.
Additionally, UF announced four new cases this afternoon bringing the total to 28 cases for the university.
Today UF reported undergraduate students in the College of Business, College of Engineering, College of Journalism and Communications, and an employee at UF/IFAS. All of these cases live off-campus.
County introduces new amendments to emergency order
Employees who feel they are working in unsafe conditions can now anonymously report their concerns to the county.
On Saturday, Alachua County announced amendments to the stay-at-home emergency order, which it issued Monday, The anonymous reporting line, known as the 311 Critical Information/Anonymous Report Line, is now available for employees who feel working conditions are potentially harmful.
Essential businesses, such as grocery stores, banks and gas stations are still operating. A longer list of essential businesses is included in the order, such as hardware stores, hotels and laundromats.
Working conditions are held to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 guidelines, which include employee education of worksites rules, the establishment of an anonymous report line and use of personal protective equipment, according to the county release.
The amendment also clarified that religious services are subjected to “gathering” restrictions. Current policy caps groups at 10 people with a social distancing requirement of six feet between each person.
Alex DeLuca, Alyssa Feliciano and Grethel Aguila contributed to this report.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
