ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The City of St. Petersburg will offer one month of free parking at its downtown garages to those who get vaccinated at City Hall.
Mayor Rick Kriseman said on Twitter that residents will have the opportunity to get vaccinated at City Hall on Sunday, Aug. 22.
Details about the event will be shared at a later date. Those who get vaccinated will get one month of free parking at any garage in downtown St. Pete, the mayor said.
The news comes as Florida continues to break new records for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
In Pinellas County, nearly 95,000 people have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began, and 1,671 people have died.
Over the last month, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital has seen a increase in patients with COVID-19.
“We saw 12 positive cases in June, then in the first week of July we saw more cases than the whole month of June. Now we are seeing about 100 cases a week,” said Dr. Joseph Perno, Vice President of Medical Affairs at the hospital.
With the Delta variant spreading rapidly and school back in session, Dr. Perno said he is worried those numbers will continue to rise.
“You have a very highly contagious virus out there and as we know the Delta variant is five times more contagious the previous versions you put it all together and every pediatrician is deathly afraid,” added Dr. Perno.