Young adults are seeing higher infection rates as Florida reports 5,759 new COVID-19 cases

ORLANDO, Fla. – As Florida prepares on April 5 to extend its vaccine entitlement to anyone over the age of 18, Orange County reports an increase in the number of cases among young adults.

According to Dr. Raul Pino of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, the county’s mean age for new infections has dropped to 30 years because of this trend.

[TRENDING: Teens rescued from slingshot ride | Woman found naked in storm drain says she was there for 3 weeks | Teacher fired for using medical marijuana]

Advertisement

People in the 18-25 age group also fill more hospital beds after being infected with the virus. Orange County reported Thursday that people 45 and younger are responsible for a third of COVID-19 hospital admissions.

While that younger segment of the population waits to qualify for a vaccine, the rapid COVID-19 test site in Barnett Park has been expanded to allow it to remain open until the end of April.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said Thursday that the site would close on March 31, but realized the demand for testing is still high.

The site is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm and offers both rapid and PCR virus testing.

Advertisement

Recently, about 800 to 1,000 tests have been performed every day.

At the same time, doctors in Central Florida are warning people about COVID-19 re-infections.

Dr. Tim Hendrix, medical director of AdventHealth Centers Care, attended the hospital’s morning briefing on Thursday and said if you had COVID-19 and recovered, you can still get reinfected.

“We do see that people are infected with COVID-19 again. People infected in the fall we see at Centra Care about five to seven cases per week of people coming in, ”said Hendrix.

Hendrix said the immunity you gain after recovery from the coronavirus is not enough to fully protect you from becoming infected again.

“You have some immunity, but it’s not necessarily perfect for a natural infection, so you shouldn’t rely on a natural infection,” said Hendrix.

Advertisement

News 6 asked the Florida Department of Health if they are detecting reinfections and we have not heard anything.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: DeSantis announces vaccine eligibility expansion as Florida reports 5,803 new COVID-19 cases ]

Find the state-run COVID-19 dashboard below:

Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 5,759 new cases on Friday, bringing the state’s total number to 2,033,179 cases since the virus was first discovered on March 1, 2020.

Deaths

Florida reported 167 new virus-related deaths Friday, bringing the death toll to 33,756. This number includes the 640 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospital admissions

As of Friday afternoon there were currently According to the State Agency for Health Care Administration, 2,863 people have been hospitalized in Florida with the virus.

Advertisement

As of last March, 84,406 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes the 203 new Patients recently hospitalized for the virus, according to the daily health department report released Friday.

Positivity rate

The percentage of positive results was 5.69% Thursday of 101,236 tests. The numbers reported daily by the state reflect the previous day’s test results. Health officials say the rate should stay between 5% and 10% to prove that a community has a hold on the virus and is keeping infections in check.

Vaccinations

The Florida Department of Health began publishing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines being administered statewide in December.

FDOH reports 3,004,403 people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. These individuals either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or completed a two-stage series.

Advertisement

Starting Friday 5,475,209 people have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Below is the breakdown by province of new cases from Friday.

To keep up to date with the latest news about the pandemic, subscribe to News 6’s coronavirus newsletter and go to Click Orlando.com/coronavirus