Panama City, Fla.— Bay County received confirmation of one additional case of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. The person ill with the virus is a 21-year-old female. This brings Bay County’s total COVID-19 cases to 98.

The Florida Department of Health in Bay County (DOH-Bay) is now conducting its contact investigation and working on identifying and notifying individuals who will need to self-monitor for symptoms for a 14-day period. Contact investigations are a critical way for staff epidemiologists to track and prevent the spread of disease.

DOH-Bay is also announcing expanded testing options on-site at our office located at 597 W 11^th ST, Panama City. Previously, we were only able to test those from the CDC’s high priority criteria, persons 65 and over, and those with underlying health conditions. These specimens will continue to be sent through the Bureau of Public Health Lab. Through a partnership with a private lab, we are now taking appointments for all persons with symptoms of COVID-19 regardless of; age, occupation, or underlying health conditions.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Chills
• Muscle pain
• New loss of taste or smell
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Sore throat.

For COVID-19 screening, please call DOH-Bay at (850) 872-4455 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and follow the prompts. Testing is by appointment only and done in your car for convenience and safety. No insurance is filed and there are no fees for persons who receive testing. Results typically take between two and four days for receipt depending on whether you are a high priority patient and the current demand on the lab.

Friday, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) announced that antibody COVID-19 test results data is now available. This report will be provided once a week and contains county, race and lab information on antibody COVID-19 tests conducted in Florida. That report is available here. 

The percent of those testing positive for COVID-19 in Bay County overall is 3%. Of the 3,898 tests processed, there are 3,798 negative results. There are three Florida resident deaths (3% of all cases) in Bay County from COVID-19. The total Florida resident hospitalizations count is at 13 (14% of all cases).

The Florida Department of Health also 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 is available here.

The Florida Department of Health has launched a COVID-19 dashboard that will be updated daily at 10 a.m. The state also provides a report detailing surveillance data for every Florida county. The surveillance data report is available at FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov.

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. You may also contact the Citizens Information Center 7 days a week from 10 am – 6 pm at (850) 248-6090 or email ask@baycountyfl.gov.

For state level text alerts in the fight against COVID-19, text FLCOVID19 to 888-777. 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 information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), please visit the CDC COVID-19 website. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, please visit the travel advisory website.

For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Department’s dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling (866) 779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day. Inquiries may also be emailed to 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.

###

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information about the Florida Department of Health, please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov .