Free Drive-thru COVID-19 Viral Testing by Dept. of Health Bay County Scheduled

Panama City, Florida — The Florida Department of Health in Bay County (DOH-Bay) received confirmation of 32 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the total cases to 744 including 710 residents and 34 non-residents. Five Bay County residents, or 1 percent of all positive Bay County cases, have died from COVID-19. A total of 38 Bay County residents, or 5 percent of all cases, have been hospitalized with COVID-19. Bay County’s overall COVID-19 positive testing rate is 8 percent. Of the 9,078 tests processed, 8,320 tests are negative.

Demographics for today’s confirmed cases: Male (38), Female (46), Female (22), Male (20), Male (53), Female (26), Female (51), Male (25), Female (36), Male (29), Male (58), Male (74), Male (72), Male (22), Male (34), Female (40), Female (64), Female (71), Male (64), Male (41), Female (30), Male (17), Female (19), Female (35), Male (25), Female (15), Female (42), Male (29), Female (48), Female (40), Male (25), and Female (19). There is one non-Florida resident case.

Cities of Bay County cases based on patient’s ZIP Code: Panama City (480), Panama City Beach (117), Lynn Haven (63), Youngstown (13), Southport (10), Missing (8), Callaway (7), Fountain (5), Tyndall Air Force Base (3), Bayou George (1), Parker (1), Inlet Beach (1), and Seacrest (1).

Prevention

Protect the vulnerable by avoiding the Three Cs: Closed Spaces, Crowded Places and Close-Contact Settings and by wearing a mask in public:

1. Closed Spaces. Avoid closed spaces with poor ventilation that could allow contagious droplets to linger in the air.
2. Crowded Places. Avoid crowded places with many people nearby; the greater the number of individuals in an area, the greater the chances of COVID-19 spreading from person-to-person.
3. Close-Contact Settings. Avoid close-range conversations and stay at least six-feet from others.

Testing

DOH-Bay will offer free drive-thru COVID-19 viral testing to any person over 18 with or without symptoms on Tuesday, July 7 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the former Springfield City Hall site, 3529 E 3^rd ST, Panama City. Please enter at 5^th Street and School Avenue, then you will go down Killborn Avenue, and you will be directed by Springfield Police Officers at 4^th Street. Once the line reaches 5^th Street and School Avenue we will be at capacity. Please see map below for traffic route. Please note that the map shows the former Springfield City Hall prior to that Hurricane Michael.

DOH-Bay is now testing anyone with symptoms of COVID-19. For screening, please call DOH-Bay at (850) 872-4455 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and follow the prompts. Testing is by appointment only. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, new loss of taste or smell, vomiting or diarrhea, and/or sore throat. The CDC has a symptom checker available at CDC.gov/coronavirus. For additional testing options and information, visit Bay.FloridaHealth.gov.

COVID-19 Question of the Day

How will I know if the drive-thru testing reaches capacity or if it is closed due to inclement weather?

Last week at Rosenwald we reached capacity before 9 a.m., the official start of the testing event. We anticipate high demand for testing again this week. If we reach capacity, we will send a text message for those signed up for bayhealth. You can sign-up by texting bayhealth to 888777. This message will also be on the Bay County Emergency Service Facebook page and Twitter account.

We are also closely watching the weather. In the event of inclement weather that would force use to close the drive-thru testing site, we will also send a text message to bayhealth subscribers. In addition, the message will also post to the Bay County Emergency Services Facebook page and Twitter account.

Additional Data

The state provides a report detailing surveillance data for every Florida county, which is available here.

In order to make the daily COVID-19 report easier to download and more accessible, the daily report will now separate case line data in a separate PDF. Both reports will continue to be updated daily. The case line data report is available here.

Florida long-term care facility data:

• The list of long-term care facilities with active COVID-19 cases is available here. 
• The list of long-term care facilities with deaths is available here, which is updated weekly. 

The antibody COVID-19 test results report will be provided once a week and contains county, race and lab information on antibody COVID-19 tests conducted in Florida. The report for antibody tests conducted by private health care providers is available here and the report for antibody tests conducted at state-supported COVID-19 testing sites is available here.

More information on a case-by-case basis can also be found here.

For more Information on COVID-19

For text alert updates from the Florida Department of Health in Bay County, text “bayhealth” to 888-777. For additional information specific to Bay County, visit http://bay.floridahealth.gov/ or BayHealthCOVID19.com. Contact the Citizens Information Center seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at (850) 248-6090, or email ask@baycountyfl.gov.  

To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, please visit the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 website at FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov. For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, call (866) 779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

The free StrongerThanC19 app is available to both iOS and Android users and can be downloaded from the Apple or Google app stores. The StrongerThanC19 app and website are designed to gather information to help the Department of Health track and slow the spread of COVID-19 in Florida; they are not intended to be used as a symptom checker designed to dispense medical advice.