Panama City, Fla.— The Florida Department of Health in Bay County (DOH-Bay) confirmed today that an 50-year-old Bay County man, diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 19 and a 58-year-old Bay County man, diagnosed with COVID-19 July 19 passed away. Thirteen Bay County residents have died from COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.

DOH-Bay offers condolences to the latest victims’ families and will continue to work diligently with our community partners to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

DOH-Bay also received confirmation of 71 additional cases of COVID-19 with 256 negative test results with 21.7 percent positive for July 21. According to the Agency for Health Care Administration as of 10 a.m. today there are 91 persons in Bay County hospitals with COVID-19.

Bay County’s total case count is at 2,269 including 2,213 residents and 56 non-residents. Thirteen Bay County residents have died from COVID-19. Bay County’s overall COVID-19 positive testing rate is 12 percent. Of the 19,211 tests processed, 16,915 tests are negative.

The age range for Bay County residents testing positive for COVID-19 for July 12 is 0-4 years (3), 5-14 years (0), 15-24 years (14), 25-34 (12), 35-44 (14), 45-54 (11), 55-64 (11), 65-74 (3), 75-84 (2), and 85+ (1). There is one non-Florida resident case.

Cities of Bay County cases based on patient’s ZIP Code: Panama City (1,530), Panama City Beach (307), Lynn Haven (229), Youngstown (40), Southport (40), Fountain (22), Missing (18), Callaway (10), Tyndall Air Force Base (7), Mexico Beach (3), Inlet Beach (2), Parker (2), Bayou George (1), Seacrest (1), and Watersound (1).

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

COVID-19 Question of the Day

If I am positive with COVID-19, when can I discontinue isolation?

The CDC has revised its guidance for discontinuing isolation on July 20. Please see the information below. You can also visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/disposition-in-home-patients.html.

Accumulating evidence supports ending isolation and precautions for persons with COVID-19 using a symptom-based strategy. Specifically, researchers have reported that people with mild to moderate COVID-19 remain infectious no longer than 10 days after their symptoms began, and those with more severe illness or those who are severely immunocompromised remain infectious no longer than 20 days after their symptoms began. Therefore, CDC has updated the recommendations for discontinuing home isolation as follows:

Persons with COVID-19 who have symptoms and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation under the following conditions:

• At least 10 days* have passed since symptom onset and
• At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
• Other symptoms have improved.

*A limited number of persons with severe illness may produce replication-competent virus beyond 10 days, that may warrant extending duration of isolation for up to 20 days after symptom onset. Consider consultation with infection control experts. See Discontinuation of Transmission-Based Precautions and Disposition of Patients with COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings (Interim Guidance).

Persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 who never develop COVID-19 symptoms may discontinue isolation and other precautions 10 days after the date of their first positive RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

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 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 Bay.FloridaHealth.gov.

DOH-Bay Test Results

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 https://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.

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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 .