JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With 2.78 million COVID-19 cases reported in the United States, more familiar faces are reporting they are among the total.
Within the past year, a handful of local leaders have come forward with the news that they have tested positive for coronavirus.
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Among those have been Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Duval County Property Appraiser Jerry Holland, City Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, City Councilman Sam Newby, local activist Ben Frazier and former Jaguars star Tony Boselli.
Most recently, Sheriff Mike Williams announced on Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing minor symptoms from the virus.
In its statement, the Sheriff’s Office noted that Williams received “the full complement of the vaccine” before he tested positive. A spokesperson said the sheriff is recovering at home.
Additional details were not provided.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said on July 21 that she had tested positive for COVID-19.
In a tweet, she noted that she was vaccinated earlier this year. Her symptoms, she said, were mild and her family is in good health.
Duval County Property Appraiser Jerry Holland, as of Aug. 8, returned home after being hospitalized with COVID-19. His wife was also hospitalized with coronavirus. She is said to still be in the hospital.
Neither of them had been vaccinated, Holland told the Times-Union, but “I wish we had been.”
City Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman was also hospitalized and ended up in intensive care following a COVID-19 diagnosis in July.
Throughout the pandemic, Pittman has been an advocate for COVID vaccinations.
Back in March, Jacksonville City Council member Sam Newby tested positive for coronavirus and was hospitalized. He is said to have made a full recovery after being treated at St. Vincent’s Hospital.
“I’m doing fine. I’m doing good,” Newby told News4Jax.
Well-known activist and president of the Jacksonville Northside Coalition Ben Frazier tested positive for COVID-19 in July.
Frazier had been vaccinated and avoided hospitalization. He and other city leaders are pushing for the public to get the vaccine to avoid becoming severely ill.
Former Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli recovered from a battle with coronavirus in April 2020.
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He said the illness and five-day stay in the intensive care unit was a “scary, lonely time.”
Florida hospitals reported on Tuesday that nearly 28 percent of the inpatient beds being utilized are filled with patients who have COVID 19, according to a website maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In all, about 85 percent of the inpatient hospital beds in the state are in use, according to the data, which hospitals report to the government daily.