PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Bay County is responding to COVID-19. To keep Bay County residents and visitors safe and aware regarding the status of the virus, the Bay County Joint Information Center will issue daily updates. The Florida Department of Health has launched a COVID-19 dashboard that will be updated daily at 10 am. The state also provides a report detailing surveillance data for every Florida county. The surveillance data report is available here.

The percent of those testing positive for COVID-19 overall is 4%. Of the 1,918 tests processed, there are 1,840 negative results. There are three Florida resident deaths in Bay County from COVID-19. The total hospitalizations count is at ten.

The addresses of the 75 positive Bay County residents include; 48 in Panama City, 12 in Panama City Beach, one in Southport, six in Lynn Haven, one in Parker, three in Youngstown, one in Tyndall Air Force Base, and three in Callaway.

The Florida Department of Health releases a list of long-term care facilities in Florida associated with COVID-19 cases with active cases and number of deaths in each facility in order to provide real-time 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 in available here.

Symptoms of a possible infection with COVID-19, include: fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, new loss of taste or smell, vomiting or diarrhea, and/or sore throat. Community-based testing options are available at no out-of-pocket costs through the following:

Additional sites will be scheduled through the month of May. For a map of testing locations, including private options that accept insurance, visit BayHealthCOVID19.com.

We continue to ask high-priority patients to make an appointment so those tests can be sent to the Bureau of Public Health labs which offers a slightly faster turn-around time. High priority patients include; hospitalized patients, healthcare facility workers, workers in congregate living settings, and first responders with symptoms, and residents in long-term care facilities or other congregate living settings, including correctional and detention facilities and shelters, with symptoms. If you meet the above criteria, stop the spread and call ahead to DOH-Bay at (850) 872-4455 for screening.

EMERGENCY WARNING SIGNS

Get medical attention immediately.

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion or inability to arouse
• Bluish lips or face

For more information on what to do if you think you were exposed to COVID-19, visit FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov/exposure.

ANTIBODY TESTING

Antibody testing is a blood test that can tell you if you’ve had COVID-19 or a related coronavirus. Antibodies usually develop 1–3 weeks after symptoms start.

If a healthcare facility is offering this service, you will want to ask if it tests for just COVID-19 antibodies (and not general coronavirus, which can include the common cold).

There a few things we don’t know about COVID-19 antibodies:

• We don’t know if having them can protect you from getting COVID-19 again.
• We don’t know how long the protection lasts.

What we do know:

• If you test positive and you haven’t had symptoms—you’ve had an asymptomatic infection.
• If you test negative—you probably haven’t had COVID-19, but you could have it now or you could get sick if you’ve recently been exposed.
• Some people may take longer to develop antibodies, and others may never develop antibodies.

BAY DISTRICT SCHOOLS

Bay District Schools is beginning to survey our employees to determine the level of interest in COVID-19 testing. Our meals delivery/distribution continues with great impact. Summer Bay Base registration and centralized registration for the 2020-2021 school year continues at the Nelson Building.

CITY OF PANAMA CITY BEACH

The City Council is reopening public meetings at 25% capacity, in concert with the Governor's order limiting indoor restaurant seating and retail to 25% occupancy. This begins with the 1 p.m. Planning Board on Wednesday, May 13. The City Council meets at 6 p.m Thursday.

RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUTH AND FAMILIES DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK

The link below provides resources on topics affecting youth and how supportive adults can help.

https://youth.gov/feature-article/covid-coronavirus-resources

SAFE. SMART. STEP-BY-STEP.

Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-120, regarding Palm Beach County entering Phase 1 and the reopening of barbershops, hair salons and nail salons.

Guidance for barbershops, hair salons and nail salons can be found here. Answers to frequently asked questions relating to Executive Order 20-120 can be found here

Read the full update in the .pdf.