Bay County Announces 15 Deaths And 201 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19

Panama City, Florida — The Florida Department of Health in Bay County (DOH-Bay) confirmed today that a 67-year-old woman (case confirmed June 25), a 95-year-old man (case confirmed July 4), a 74-year-old woman (case confirmed July 9), an 81-year-old man (case confirmed July 9), a 76-year-old man (confirmed July 12), a 76-year-old woman (case confirmed July 12), a 71-year-old woman (case confirmed July 13), an 86-year-old man (case confirmed July 16), a 67-year-old man (case confirmed July 18), a 60-year-old man (case confirmed July 19), an 85-year-old man (case confirmed July 24), a 74-year-old woman (case confirmed July 25), an 80-year-old man (case confirmed July 27), a 55-year-old woman (case confirmed July 27), and an 89-year-old man (case confirmed July 28) passed away. Thirty-seven Bay County residents have died from COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. DOH-Bay offers condolences to the families and will continue to work diligently with our community partners to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Florida Department of Health in Bay County (DOH-Bay) received confirmation of 201 additional cases of COVID-19, including three non-Florida residents with 371 negative test results and a 34.8% percent positive for August 3. According to the Agency for Health Care Administration as of 10 a.m. today there are 83 persons in Bay County hospitals with a primary diagnosis COVID-19.

The age range for Bay County residents testing positive for COVID-19 for August 3 is 0-4 years (1), 5-14 years (5), 15-24 years (30), 25-34 (33), 35-44 (26), 45-54 (36), 55-64 (37), 65-74 (23), 75-84 (2), 85+ (1), and unknown (4).

Bay County’s total case count is at 3,921 including 3,856 residents and 65 non-residents. Thirty-seven Bay County residents have died from COVID-19. There have been five deaths associated with long-term care facilities. Bay County’s overall COVID-19 positive testing rate is 16 percent. Of the 24,276 tests processed, 20,312 tests are negative.

Cities of Bay County cases based on patient’s ZIP Code: Panama City (2,617), Lynn Haven (510), Panama City Beach (485), Youngstown (68), Southport (60), Fountain (38), Missing (28), Callaway (18), Mexico Beach (10), Tyndall Air Force Base (8), Parker (5), Vernon (3), Inlet Beach (2), Bayou George (1), Seacrest (1), Rosemary Beach (1), and Watersound (1).

Data is preliminary and subject to change based on public health investigations.

COVID-19 Question of the Day

How do I wash my masks?

Mask should be washed after each use. You can wash you mask in a washing machine with your regular laundry. Use regular detergent and the warmest appropriate water setting for the material used to make the mask. You can dry them on the highest heat setting in the dryer or lay flat to air dry in direct sunlight. For information on handwashing, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-to-wash-cloth-face-coverings.html.

Prevention

One Goal One Florida asks all Floridians to join this important initiative by following these simple, yet effective steps to mitigate and slow the spread of the virus:

Protect the vulnerable, including the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions
Practice proper hygiene, including washing your hands
Practice social distancing, avoiding closed spaces and crowded places
Wear a mask, if you are in close contact with others

Testing

Bay County Testing Sites

The first of three new drive-through, by-appointment COVID-19 testing sites in Bay County is set to open to the general public at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 30 at the Lynn Haven Sports Park, located at 2201 Recreation Drive, Lynn Haven. A second site will open at 7 a.m. Monday at Frank Brown Park, located at 16200 Panama City Beach Parkway on Panama City Beach and the third site will be located in Callaway, with details announced as they are finalized.

Each site will test up to 500 people per day for the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab tests will be analyzed at a dedicated lab for these testing sites, and results are expected within 48 hours or less and provided via a secure online portal or by phone.

To make an appointment for a test, visit https://walkonclinic.apacovid.com/default.aspx. A short medical questionnaire must be completed before booking an appointment time, and accurate information must be provided to ensure test results are received. Insurance information is not necessary and can be skipped by stating “no insurance” on the questionnaire. Photo identification is required upon arrival for an appointment.

For now, the tests are available at no cost to anyone 18 and older, though county officials say they are working to offer the testing to minors as soon as possible. The hours of operation for each testing site are: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

DOH-Bay

DOH-Bay is 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 http://bay.floridahealth.gov/.

Test Results

Bay County Testing Sites

When you are tested at one of the new County testing sites at the Lynn Haven Sports Park or Frank Brown Park, you will receive instructions on how to obtain your test results. Please hold on to these instructions for future reference. You will receive a text message when your results are ready. You can also access your test results through the same website where you registered for testing. Simply visit https://walkonclinic.apacovid.com/default.aspx, log-in, and there is a link to get results.

DOH-Bay

If you have been tested by DOH-Bay, please answer the call from the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 results line at (833) 917-2880. They will ask for a name and date of birth to provide you with a negative test result. This number is legitimate and is a Department of Health sponsored initiative. Caller ID should identify the call as FL DOH. This will provide support to DOH-Bay so that we can focus on contacting positives persons and case investigations. Please note callers will not ask for social security numbers or medical information.

If you need physical copies of your COVID-19 test results, please follow the directions below:

Phone: Call (850) 872-4455 and follow the prompts to COVID test results prompts and request the status with the representative. You will be provided with the option to obtain your results in person (if negative) or electronically (negative or positive).

Office: If you come to our office, do not get out of your car. Please call (850) 872-4455 and follow the COVID test results prompts. Please let us know you are in the parking lot and we will deliver your results to you in your vehicle.

Email: You can make your request by emailing baymedicalrecords@flhealth.gov. After you complete the authorization form, you will need to respond with a picture of your photo ID and we will send your result to you via an encrypted email. The email must be viewed on a desktop or laptop PC as the encryption is not mobile friendly.

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.

The Agency for Health Care Administration added an additional tab to the Hospital Bed Capacity Dashboard to reflect hospitalizations with the primary diagnosis of COVID-19.

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.