Nearly 4,000 Tested For COVID-19 In Escambia County. About Half Have Their Results.
April 6, 2020
About half of those tested for COVID-19 in Escambia County have received their results.
The latest data as of Sunday night shows that 3,939 tests have been performed in Escambia County by Ascension Sacred Heart, Baptist Hospital, West Florida Hospital and Community Health Northwest Florida. Of those tests, 3,226 were conducted in drive-thrus and 713 were conducted in hospitals’ inpatient, outpatient and emergency facilities.
There were 1,965 negative test results received, and 125 positives. That’s just over 50% of test results that are back, with a 6% positive rate; statewide the positive rate was 10.6%.
The Florida Department of Health lags behind in reporting testing numbers. The FDOH only showed 1,719 tests conducted in Escambia County Sunday night with 1,592 negatives.
As of Sunday night, there were nine hospitalizations and one fatality in Escambia County.
Gas Prices Continue Their Downward Plunge
April 6, 2020
Gas prices continue to decline in Florida, down an average of 50 cents in the past 40 days, according to AAA.
The state average price was at a four-year low of $1.91 a gallon.
The average price per gallon in Escambia County was $1.82. But the lowest price per gallon Sunday night in Pensacola was $1.57, and the lowest in North Escambia Sunday night was $1.63 at a Cantonment station on Muscogee Road.
“The recent crude oil rally is not yet enough to force gas prices higher, but it does affect how much lower they can go,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Historically, gas prices rise like a rocket and fall like a feather. In this case, retail prices are still slowly falling to catch up with the massive discounts in oil and gasoline values that we saw in the past six weeks. While it’s unclear which way oil prices will go this week, the plunge at the pump should continue this week.”
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Third COVID-19 Case Confirmed In Escambia County, Alabama
April 6, 2020
The Alabama Department of Public Health has confirmed a third COVID-19 case in Escambia County, Alabama, on Sunday.
ADOH has not released additional information about the city of residence or age of any of the patients. The state reported there have been 70 total COVID-19 tests in the county.
There were 1,842 COVID-19 cases in Alabama as of Sunday night. There have been 31 deaths in the state.
ECAT Rides Are Free Beginning Today. But You Should Use The Rear Door.
April 6, 2020
Riders can now take Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) transportation for free, and they are being asked to use the rear door of the bus.
ECAT temporarily suspend fare collection for bus passengers due to COVID-19 In addition, bus passengers will be instructed to enter and exit through the rear doors only and sit behind the accessibility-reserved seating area. Front-door access will be permitted only for passengers needing the boarding ramp or operator assistance to access the bus. ADA accessible seating space near the front of the bus is reserved for individuals in mobility devices, individuals in need of special assistance and families with children in strollers.
The changes will provide some separation between the operator and the passengers—and between passengers. The changes are being implemented in addition to precautions already implemented by ECAT, including increased sanitizing efforts of every bus on a daily basis.
Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) is expected to receive $10.3 million in COVID-19 stimulus funding, and they are temporarily suspending all fares.
The CARES Act funds are for capital and operational expenses during COVID-19 for local transit services. It’s 100% funding with no local match required.
COVID-19 Cases Reported In Florida Prison Inmates, Staff Cases Rise
April 6, 2020
The Florida Department of Corrections is reporting two prisoners that are positive for COVID-19 and a growing number of cases among staff.
Two inmates at the Blackwater Correctional Facility in Milton have been diagnosed positive.
There are 23 total employees and contract staff that have tested positive for COVID-19 at 15 prisons. That includes one at Century Correctional Institution and five at the privately operated Blackwater Correctional Facility.
Here’s How The Escambia County, Alabama, Sheriff Will Enforce Stay-At-Home Order
April 6, 2020
Escambia County (AL) Sheriff Heath Jackson expects citizens in his county will mostly follow the stay-at-home order issued by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.
The order, which went into effect at 5 p.m. Friday, means that everyone in Alabama must stay home except for essential activities and services.
“I feel pretty confident our citizens in Escambia County will be abide with the order and only come out when it’s essential. I have faith in our communities, and feel like people will reel in others for everybody’s safety and well being,” Jackson said.
“We plan to address situations that are blatant disregard for the law, but as far as interfering with day to day essential ways of life in our communities, we don’t plan to interfere,” Jackson said.
For more details on Alabama’s stay-at-home order, click here.
Two WEAR Channel 3 Employees Test Positive For COVID-19
April 5, 2020
Two employees at WEAR TV 3 in Pensacola have tested positive for COVID-19, the station announced during a Sunday evening newscast.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we have suspended production in our newsroom starting Sunday for the next several days,” the station said on their website.
Sunday evening’s newscast on Channel 3 was mostly broadcast from their sister station WPMI TV 15 in Mobile; both stations are owned by the same company. During a local segment broadcast from the front lawn of the TV station, WEAR anchor Sue Straughn announced the COVID-19 cases and said WEAR 3 will continue to air local news.
NorthEscambia.com is a news partner with WEAR 3 – we often share stories, photos, and video. NorthEscambia.com publisher William Reynolds said no one from NorthEscambia.com has had any physical contact with anyone from WEAR 3 in many weeks, nor has anyone from NorthEscambia.com been inside WEAR’s studio this year.
“We wish our friends at WEAR the very best as they work through these trying times, and we offer our prayers to those directly impacted,” Reynolds said.
McDavid Special Needs Girl Gets Special Surprise Drive-By Birthday Parade From Escambia First Responders
April 5, 2020
In the days of COVID-19 and social distancing, traditional birthday parties for kids are out.
A 15-year old special needs girl in McDavid was unable to have a party Saturday, but the party came to Ella Kizer thanks to Escambia County first responders.
Led by Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chip Simmons, the parade included other deputies, the ESCO Mounted Posse, Escambia County EMS and the McDavid and Molino stations of Escambia Fire Rescue along with decorated vehicles with friends and family.
For a photo gallery, click here.
As the parade passed by, Ella shrieked with joy and waved. She received presents, birthday cupcakes and balloons.
“This is for me? Wow,” she exclaimed with a huge smile. “This is the best birthday ever!”
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
COVID-19 Last Week: First Escambia County Death, Local Cases Triple
April 5, 2020
A 75-year old woman was the first person to die in Escambia County from COVID-19, as confirmed Saturday by the Florida Department of Health.
The woman had no travel history and no known contact with a previously diagnosed case.
The number of hospitalizations in Escambia County nearly doubled as of Saturday’s report, increasing from five Friday evening to nine on Saturday.
In the one week period from March 29, the number of Escambia County cases tripled from 37 to 118 on Saturday, April 4. During the same time period, cases in Pensacola jumped from 26 to 84, and the number of Cantonment cases over doubled from nine to 19. The first case was reported during the week in the Century area.
With A Dysfunctional Website In Shambles, Florida Releases Paper Unemployment Applications
April 5, 2020
Floridians frustrated with trying to file for unemployment on the state’s broken website now have the option of downloading and filing a paper form.
There is the catch that “paper applications could potentially take longer to process than completing an online application,” the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) says on the state’s unemployment site. But a large number of NorthEscambia.com readers have told us they have spent day after day trying to file the online application only to receive error messages. Local residents have also reported that they have spend hours on hold after calling the state’s call center.
The DEO quietly posted the forms late Friday, but did not send out a press release to notify the media.
The website is in shambles after being overwhelmed by applicants suddenly out of a job due to the coronavirus. There were 152,687 new initial unemployment benefit applications just last week, far exceeding the previous record of a little over 40,000 in 2009. It’s not known how many people tried and failed last week.
The state made the move to an online system until October 2013. There are members of the state legislature calling for investigations into the failures of the $77 million website.
“77 million? Someone should go to jail over that,” tweeted Sen Joe Gruters.
The applications can be downloaded in English, Spanish or Creole by clicking here. The complete forms are mailed to:
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
P.O. Box 5350
Tallahassee, FL 32314-5350
Gov. Ron DeSantis is sending workers from other state agencies to the DEO to help process unemployment applications. He has also waive a 2011 law that requires applications to be filed online.
“I think this requires all hands on deck,” DeSantis said. “We have a lot of state government functions that are generally important but just not as important right now given what we’re dealing with.”