- April 18, 2024
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Omicron continues to surge in Flagler County, with the Florida Department of Health in Flagler County reporting 1,469 positive cases for the week of Jan 10 as of Friday, Jan. 14; up from 1,166 for the week before and far exceeding the peak of 936 seen during the delta surge.
Flagler reported 1,469 positive cases for the week of Jan. 10, up from 1,166 for the week before.
In Volusia County, there were 7,465 cases over the week, up from 6,443 the week before; in St. Johns County, 3,507, up from 3,126. Putnam County had a more sudden increase — a rise to 1,061 from 397 the week before.
The Florida Department of Health-Flagler had tested about 700 people for COVID-19 at its drive-thru testing center at the Flagler Executive Airport so far that week as of Friday morning, and was expecting another 150 on Friday, Florida Department of Health-Flagler Communications Manager Gretchen Smith said.
"We had a very, very busy week," she said on Flagler Broadcasting's "Free For All Friday" Jan. 14.
Hospitalizations have remained lower than during the delta surge, Smith noted: AdventHealth had 38 COVID-related inpatients as of Jan. 14, and had had a peak of 101 in August; two patients are in the ICU, and two are on ventilators, she said. A total of 288 Flagler County residents have died since the start of the pandemic.
Testing at the airport has been on weekday mornings, by appointment, Smith said. But health department staff were also surprised by a recent phenomenon: Large numbers of people who'd set appointments weren't showing up for testing.
On Jan. 13, Smith said, about 60 people skipped their appointments. People who need testing can call and see if the health department can fit them in, she said.
But, she added, the cancellations might be because people are deciding that if they have all of the symptoms, it may not make sense to bother getting tested when they can simply stay home, lay low, and see how they're feeling on day six.
She gave a quick recap of the history of the pandemic in Flagler County.
"It’s amazing to think that we started vaccinating people over a year ago: The beginning of January was when it all started; people who were over 65, plus healthcare workers," she said.
By the end of March, that expanded to people over 40; then, in April, to those over 16.
But in July, local cases began rising, and Flagler had its highest week of cases of the delta wave on the week of Aug. 5, with 936 positive cases.
That's dwarfed by the 1,469 cases this week, Smith noted. "You can kind of guess that omicron is much more contagious than delta," she said.
Testing and vaccination shifted to the Flagler Executive Airport last October, with a Pfizer vaccination clinic on Monday nights.
Current testing through the health department is 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. across from the Airport Professional Building at 120 Airport Road, on the field on the way to the Flagler Executive Airport through Friday, Jan. 21, and requires an appointment: Call 386-437-7350, Ext. 0. Both rapid tests and PCR tests are available.
In Volusia County, PCR testing is available at the Florida Department of Health's Daytona Beach location at 1845 Holsonback Drive and at its Orange City location at 775 Harley Strickland Blvd., for people with symptoms and those who have been exposed to COVID-19, including students seeking testing for clearance to return to school. Schedule an appointment by calling 386-274-0500 (press pound on the menu).
