Bay County Reports Largest One Day Increase of COVID-19 Positive Cases, with 39 New Cases.

Panama City, Florida — The Florida Department of Health in Bay County (DOH-Bay) received confirmation of 40 additional cases of COVID-19. These include a 67-year-old female, a 23-year-old male, a 33-year-old female, a 33-year-old female, a 36-year-old male, a 59-year-old female, a 48-year-old female, a 58-year-old female, a 42-year-old female, a 50-year-old female, a 51-year-old female, a 50-year-old female, a 26-year-old female, a 46-year-old female, a 24-year-old female, a 71-year-old female, a 32-year-old female, a 56-year-old female, a 20-year-old female, a 17-year-old female, a 41-year-old female, a 67-year-old female, a 44-year-old female, a 54-year-old female, a 50-year-old female, a 23-year-old female, a 22-year-old female, a 50-year-old female, a 43-year-old female, a 37-year-old female, a 1-year-old female, a 49-year-old female, a 31-year-old female, a 47-year-old female, a 27-year-old male, a 67-year-old female, a 43-year-old female, a 55-year-old female, a 49-year-old female, and a 16-year-old female. There is one non-Florida resident. One case is travel related. Twenty-three cases are a contact with a confirmed case. Twenty-four cases are associated with Long Term Care Facilities. There is one new hospitalization.

DOH-Bay is conducting the contact investigation and working to identify and notify individuals who need to self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days. Contact investigations are a critical way for staff epidemiologists to track and prevent the spread of disease.

Bay County’s overall COVID-19 positive testing rate is 4 percent. Of the 7,276 tests processed, 6,985 tests are negative.

In the past 30 days, 191 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Bay County, 19 persons have been hospitalized, and no Bay County residents have died.

Bay County’s total diagnosed COVID-19 cases now stands at 288. This includes 274 Bay County residents and 14 non-Florida resident cases. Four Bay County residents, or 1 percent of all positive Bay County cases, have died from COVID-19. A total of 32 Bay County residents, or 12 percent of all cases, have been hospitalized with COVID-19.

The State is under a Public Health Advisory from the Florida Department of Health. It advises wearing masks in public, encourages elderly and vulnerable populations to limit interactions outside of the home, and urges all individuals to refrain from participating in gatherings of more than 50 people. It also discusses 50-percent indoor capacities for bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues and other business regulations due to COVID-19. To read the full release, click here. To file a complaint with the Florida Department of Business and Professional regulations, click here.

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

DOH will offer free drive-through testing to any person over 18 at the following dates and locations:

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 Florida Department of Health also provides a  COVID–19 dashboard updated daily at 10 a.m. as well as a report detailing surveillance data for every Florida county, available at FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov. 

The Florida Department of Health also offers a list of long-term care facilities in Florida associated with COVID-19 cases and provides real-time data about active cases and number of deaths in each facility.

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) publishes antibody COVID-19 test results data weekly. The report contains county, race and lab information on antibody COVID-19 tests conducted in Florida.

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) publishes pediatric report for Florida weekly. The report contains characteristics of pediatric Florida resident cases by county.

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 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.