COVID-19 cases in Escambia County are on the rise, according to the latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health, with a double-digit increase compared to last week.
Numbers in Escambia County saw a sharp uptick between June 14-21, rising from 45 cases to 73, which represents a 62.2% jump. Santa Rosa County saw a much smaller increase, rising from 42 to 44 cases, a 4.76% increase.
The rising numbers should serve as a reminder that the infectious disease is still a threat to vulnerable portions of the population, especially as millions of Americans will congregate in mass to celebrate July 4, likely further driving up infections.
Latest COVID variant:COVID variant LB.1 is rising across the US: Here's what you need to know about it
Here’s what to know about the latest COVID-19 information and what steps you can take to protect yourself from the disease.
How Escambia County’s COVID-19 numbers stack against Florida and the US
The state Department of Health reinstated its weekly reporting of cases earlier this year, but it’s difficult to compare the data with what the CDC reports on a county level.
The CDC no longer provides total case counts, and hospitals are also no longer required to report hospitalizations, but the state makes that information available on its website. Here’s a snapshot of the latest numbers.
Between June 16-22, the United States reported 8.1% in test positivity and a 1.4% change in test positivity. Test positivity in the past two weeks was 6.1%. Test positivity represents the percentage of tests that came back positive. In the same time period, there was a 23.3% spike in COVID-19 related emergency room visits compared to the prior week.
Florida’s number reflect a similar, though subdued, trend. Florida saw a 0.5% change in test positivity and reported 5.3% in test positivity. Emergency room visits saw a substantial 34.7% increase compared to last week. The total number of COVID-19 related emergency room visits represented 1.8% of total emergency room visits.
What about new COVID variants
New variants of the virus keep emerging and the CDC reports that the KP.3 strain accounts for 33% of infections nationwide, followed by the KP.2 strain at nearly 21%. Another strain, LB. 1, accounts for nearly 18% of infections.
“We can tell you that the variant LB.1 has the potential to infect some people more easily based on a single deletion in a spike protein,” CDC Spokesperson, Dave Daigle, said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Daigle said that this spike of the LB.1 variant is like the ones seen in JN.1 lineages. Rosa Norman, a CDC spokesperson, previously told USA TODAY that JN.1 only saw a single change in spike unlike the KP.3 variant, a sub lineage of the JN.1, which had two changes in spike.
“One of the two changes in spike was observed in recent earlier lineages, including XBB.1.5 lineages, which were dominant throughout 2023 and the basis for the 2023–2024 vaccine formulation,” Norman said. “The second of the two changes were observed in some viruses circulating in fall 2021, but not since then.”
With the information that the CDC has available right now there’s no indication that the LB.1 variant poses a serious risk.
“There is currently no evidence that LB.1 causes more severe disease," Daigle said.
Contributors: Ahjané Forbes -- USA TODAY
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