JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After experiencing symptoms similar to that of a cold, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry took a COVID-19 test that came back with a positive result, a spokesperson confirmed to News4JAX on Tuesday.
Noting that the mayor is fully vaccinated, that spokesperson provided the following statement, saying he will isolate at home throughout the week:
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“After experiencing mild cold-like symptoms, Mayor Curry took an at-home COVID-19 test that came back with a positive result. Mayor Curry is fully vaccinated. The mayor is following the latest CDC guidelines and will continue to isolate at home throughout the week. Mayor Curry would like to express his thanks to our healthcare and front line workers who continue to battle this pandemic.”
Additional details were not immediately released.
Jacksonville is now considered a high transmission area for COVID-19, the Duval County health department said during a city council committee meeting Monday.
The number of COVID-19 cases reported last week nearly quadrupled — there were more than 8,000 new infections added to the caseload last week in Duval County.
The number of Florida hospital inpatients with COVID-19 has jumped to nearly 7,000, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The data showed that 6,914 inpatients had COVID-19, up from 5,700 on Monday.
Hospitalizations have steadily increased as the omicron variant of the coronavirus has caused a surge in COVID-19 cases. The 6,914 inpatients Tuesday was more than double the 3,148 that the federal agency reported a week earlier.
The data said 766 Florida COVID-19 patients were in intensive-care units Tuesday, up from 382 a week earlier.
While hospitalization numbers have increased in recent weeks, they remain below totals this summer, when the delta variant of the coronavirus spread through the state. For instance, Florida had 15,177 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sept. 1, according to federal data.