COVID In Lake: Hospitalizations Rise, Cases Fall

    The winter season had brought an uptick in COVID cases in Lake County, but the most recent data available from the Center for Disease Control indicated that last week, at least, cases have declined here.
   CDC data indicates that during the week that ended January 4, Lake County reported 322 COVID cases, down just over 15% from the week prior. Exact death tolls were not available, with the CDC only showing ‘less than ten’ as a data point.
   However, data indicates that while Lake County's positivity rate on testing hovered over 17% - much higher than the 5% or below level historically sought by healthcare professionals - the rate actually declined from around 18% the week prior.
   Additionally, hospitalizations have risen, with an estimated 50 people hospitalized with COVID during the period running through the New Year’s holiday. That number represents a 43% increase over the previous period.
   The CDC currently lists Lake County as ‘medium’ on its ‘low, medium, high’ scale that tracks the relative severity of the virus at any given time. The majority of Central Florida joined Lake in the ‘medium’ level this past week.