MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Manatee County commissioners have voted 4-3 to extend the local curfew through Tuesday, April 21.
Since first enacting the curfew on April 3, Manatee County has seen 210 more COVID-19 cases in the area. As of Friday evening, the county has reported 326 cases and 29 reported deaths.
During the meeting, Commissioner Carol Whitmore announced former county commissioner, Gwen Brown, has passed away from COVID-19. She was the first black commissioner for the county and served for 16 years.
The curfew goes from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and prohibits non-essential travel throughout the night and early morning hours, excluding travel for food, medicine and employment.
During the meeting on Friday, Manatee County Commissioners Public Safety Director Jacob Saur presented some data to the commissioners regarding the second week of the curfew being enacted.
In his data, he mentioned the following information:
- EMS has seen a 39.8 percent decrease in call volume
- MSO has seen a 14.8 percent decrease in calls for service
- FHP has seen a 90 percent reduction in number of crashes
- ECC has seen a 18 percent decrease in call volume, with 80 percent decrease in motor vehicle crashes needing EMS assistance
- On Friday and Saturday, there was a 21 to 54 percent decrease in vehicular volume
- From Sunday to Thursday, there was a 17 to 54 percent decrease in vehicular volume
Saur also mentioned nursing homes and long-term care facilities were the No. 1 concern for the county as a majority of the positive cases in the area stem from the long-term care facilities.
The Manatee County Health Department has issued an involuntary quarantine for nursing home workers to help reduce the spread of the disease. Additionally, it is working to get all patients and workers tested.
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