Community Corner
Three Florida Counties Remain With Zero Infected
North Florida spared those affected by virus to date.
From the Florida Phoenix: By Diane Rado - April 8, 2020
Just a week and a half ago, the Florida Phoenix wrote that 20 Florida counties had zero infections of COVID-19. Since then, almost all those counties have fallen off the coronavirus-free list.
As of Tuesday afternoon, only three counties remain with zero infections, Gilchrist, Lafayette and Liberty, according to Florida Department of Health data analyzed by the Phoenix.
Find out what's happening in Across Floridafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
All three zero-infection counties in North Florida are buttressed by their borders.
They are not on the water, hugging the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic side of the peninsula. They’re not on the Georgia border.
Find out what's happening in Across Floridafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Gilchrist borders Alachau to the west. Alachua is home of the University of Florida in Gainesville. It has 141 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Lafayette County is northwest of Gilchrist, surrounded by the counties of Dixie, Suwannee, Gilchrist, Madison and Taylor. As of Tuesday afternoon, Taylor fell off the zero-infection list, with one confirmed case.
Liberty County is to the west of Tallahassee, bordered by Franklin, Wakulla, Leon, Gadsden, Calhoun, Gulf and Jackson.
A small number of residents in all three counties have been tested for the coronavirus, and the results were negative, according to the state health department data.
It’s unclear if those three counties will remain coronavirus-free. But infections are rising every day, and the state health department posts the numbers twice daily.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the department reported 14,504 infections in 64 of 67 counties in Florida.
Miami-Dade has 4,997 cases; Broward, 2,213, and Palm Beach, 1,136. Those counties have been the center of the coronavirus pandemic in Florida.
The department reported 283 deaths Tuesday afternoon, up from 254 Monday evening. The deaths reported are in Brevard, Broward, Dade, Duval, Escambia, Hernando, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Sumter counties.
You can look at state health department data here.
This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.
