Seminole County sees uptick in coronavirus cases

Members of the Wisconsin National Guard test residents for COVID-19 at a temporary test facility set up in the parking lot of the UMOS corporate headquarters on Oct. 9, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Some Central Florida counties are seeing a gradual uptick in COVID-19 cases. 

Seminole County officials are reminding people that the pandemic is not over. The county is pleading with residents to help stop the spread of COVID in the midst of an uptick of cases.

With a positivity rate of around 9.5 percent, health officials say it’s still not as bad as the spike in July, but say they don’t want this upward trend to get any worse.

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"We’ve had a total of 771 hospitalizations during this response," said Donna Walsh with the Florida Department of Health. "Currently, we have 56 hospitalizations and that has steadily increased over the past weeks as well. We were hovering between 20 to 30 hospitalizations per week and now we’re gradually increasing.”

Walsh says out of the 253 deaths in the county, 89-percent have been people between the ages of 65 to 84 years of age. The other 11 percent were in people ages 35 to 64.

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With Thanksgiving just a little more than two weeks away, followed by the winter holidays, she’s reminding folks to protect our vulnerable populations and help stop the spread by wearing masks, keeping up with hand washing, and being mindful of social distancing.

"I know many of us want to get together with family and friends. We’re not saying you can’t. But just take precautions. Limit the number of people who meet in one location.”