Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Official: ‘I’m not causing panic’
Palm Beach county must stay ‘very cautious’ as COVID-19 cases continue to rise
Palm Beach County must stay vigilant to ward off COVID-19 as the region prepares for more infections, warns Dr. Alina Alonso, the county’s health department director.
“I’m not causing panic,” Alonso said Tuesday at a county meeting, citing concern about the growing number of daily cases. “I’m simply saying that we have to be very cautious as we look at these numbers and try to determine where they’re coming from and be prepared to do what we need to do to put perhaps additional control measures in terms of stopping the spread of COVID.”
The county recorded its highest COVID19 daily positivity rate in over two weeks.
On Tuesday, the county reported 230 additional cases of COVID-19 and 13 more deaths, leading to a daily positivity rate of 5.5%, up from 2.62% the previous day. The 5% level where public health experts say the virus is under control.
Florida reported 3,662 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, more than double Monday’s tally of 1,707 new infections. The uptick in cases comes less than a month after Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted coronavirus restrictions across the state, allowing all businesses to reopen. In Palm Beach County, bars and numerous other businesses resumed operations on Sept. 25.
“This occurs when you open too soon,” Alonso said, highlighting a graph that showed a spike in national cases on Friday. “You never get to maintain the curve down all the way.”
Despite the state lifting prior restrictions, Alonso said there were other tools the county could use to reduce the spread of COVID, including a curfew.
“It’s not the kids at the schools [who are testing positive],” Alonso said. “It’s again those going out. You can walk down Clematis [Street], you can walk down Atlantic [Avenue] and see that people are not protecting themselves, so we have to get that message across and get it across to everybody.
“We need to keep a really close eye on this and make decisions as we go along. What are other counties doing, what are other places around the country doing to reduce the spread without closing down businesses. There are things that can be done.
“We did them here before and we may need to go back to some of those restrictions in order to stop the spread.”
Alonso also said her staff is monitoring for any potential COVID-19 hot spots. In a map highlighting new cases, Boca Raton had a few small clusters. Alonso, however, said she wasn’t overly concerned, citing a long-term facility that “had some positivity” which may have impacted the numbers.