MANATEE COUNTY – This morning, Manatee County Commissioners voted 4-3 to lift the county curfew enacted on April 3 and extended on April 10 and April 17.
The curfew has been in effect from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. Travel during that overnight timeframe was supposed to be restricted to the essential businesses, services or activities set forth in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Executive Order 20-91, which some public officials refer to as a “stay-at-home” order. That order is currently scheduled to expire on Thursday, April 30 unless it is lifted early or extended.
During today’s meeting, Commissioner Priscilla Trace made the motion to lift the controversial and much-debated curfew. Commissioners Vanessa Baugh and Steve Jonsson supported Trace’s motion to end the curfew. Commissioners Reggie Bellamy, Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore opposed the motion. Voting last, Commission Chair Betsy Benac cast the deciding vote to lift the curfew.
In doing so, it was noted that Manatee County is among the highest in Florida in terms of COVID-19 cases and the county has not yet hit its anticipated peak, which is now expected during the week of May 3.
“We’re removing the curfew, but I would like to focus on the sense of responsibility individually in making sure that you’re protecting yourself, making sure you’re protecting your loved ones and be mindful of social distancing,” Bellamy said.
He then said lifting the curfew does not mean it’s “time to party” or time to start engaging in late-night activities.
“COVID-19 is out in front of us. We have a lot of unanswered questions and the best that you can do is mask up and emphasize social distancing,” Bellamy said.
“I agree 100%,” Benac said. “This was not a message to anyone to let up on the gas, to let down your guard. The fact of the matter is we haven’t hit our peak. We need to continue to try to slow the spread so we don’t have a long plateau because that would be very bad for our community.”
It was noted that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ essential services (“stay-at-home”) order remains in effect until Thursday, April 30 unless he lifts it or extends it.
The countywide state of local emergency remains in effect. So does the countywide burn ban, which allows residents to have fires in their home fire pits.
Test kits expected today
During today’s meeting, the commission authorized County Administrator Cheri Coryea to spend up to $100,000 to purchase COVID-19 test kits and the Personal Protective Equipment needed to administer the testing. The money will come from the county’s $6.5 million emergency disaster fund.
Trace noted each test kit currently costs $61 per test to purchase and she anticipates that cost to continue increasing.
The county requested 300 tests from the state and during the meeting Public Safety Director Jake Saur was informed that the Manatee County Health Department would be receiving those 300 tests later today.
Saur said those tests would likely be used for a second round of drive-thru testing at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto.
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh asked about the cost to get tested.
Saur said any tests conducted with test kits received from the state must be done at no cost to the person being tested.
Coryea said it costs $107 to get tested at a local MCR Health facility. She said there is a co-pay for those with health insurance and a sliding cost scale for those without insurance.
The commission will meet again at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28 to discuss any new developments or actions required as the county response to the pandemic continues.
Manatee County COVID-19 cases
According to the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard, Manatee County has thus far had a total of 435 reported COVID-19 cases, 84 hospitalizations and 34 reported COVID-19-related deaths as of early this afternoon.
As of this afternoon, Manatee County has the 10th-highest number of reported cases in Florida, and 318 of those COVID-19 cases are in Bradenton.
Also as of this afternoon, there are 128 reported COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths among residents or staff members at long-term care facilities in Manatee County, which is the fourth-highest in Florida in those two categories.
Florida has 27,495 reported positive cases and 839 reported COVID-19 deaths.
Anna Maria Island cases
As of today, there were no reported COVID-19 cases in the city of Anna Maria.
According to FDOH’s afternoon daily data report, there are still only two reported cases of on Anna Maria Island – one past case in Bradenton Beach and one past case in Holmes Beach.
The Holmes Beach positive case was reported by the Florida Department of Health on April 2. FDOH reports do not include the names of those who test positive or negative for COVID-19.
According to an April 2 story in the Grand Haven (Michigan) Tribune, Megan Sheehan told the publication that her 68-year-old father, Bradenton Beach resident Tom Sheehan, died on March 29 while being treated for COVID-19.
The Grand Haven Tribune story notes Sheehan suffered from asthma, COPD and diabetes and went on a cruise even though family members warned him not to because of the unfolding coronavirus crisis.
Zip code hot zone
On Friday, Manatee County Public Safety Director Jake Saur said the 34208 zip code in Manatee County had the highest number of reported cases per zip code in the Tampa Bay region.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the 34208 zip code had 140 reported COVID-19 cases. That zip code encompasses portions of Bradenton, Ellenton, Samoset, south Bradenton and west Samoset.
Complete and regularly updated county-by-county and zip code specific COVID-19 data can be found at the FDOH COVID-19 Dashboard.
