LAKELAND, Fla. — UPDATE: As of April 2 at 11 a.m., Polk County cases totaled 92.
Polk County also received its second death due to the virus -- a 73 year old woman and Florida resident. According to the COVID-19 Daily Report posted to the Florida Department of Health's website, her case was not travel related, however she did have contact with a confirmed case. She was notified she had COVID-19 on March 29.
Here are the latest number of cases in cities across Polk County:
- DAVENPORT -- 27
- LAKELAND -- 21
- WINTER HAVEN -- 19
- KISSIMMEE, POLK -- 10
- LAKE WALES -- 3
- HAINES CITY -- 3
- BARTOW -- 2
- FORT MEADE -- 2
- MULBERRY -- 2
- CHAMPIONS GATE -- 1
- FROSTPROOF -- 1
- AUBURNDALE -- 1
ORIGINAL STORY (with previous numbers): The amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Polk County have more than quadrupled since last week. On March 26, there were 20 confirmed coronavirus cases in Polk County and as of 6 p.m. April 1, there were 91 reported cases in Polk County, 37 hospitalizations, and one death. According to the Department of Health, the youngest patient in Polk County is three years old; the oldest 88.
- Watson Urgent Care Unit has tested about 225 people for coronavirus
- Watson Clinic furloughed more than 350 employees due to ban on elective procedures
- More Polk County stories
The latest numbers for city totals haven’t been posted to Department of Health website. As of 10 a.m. April 1, Davenport led the county with 20 confirmed coronavirus cases, followed by Winter Haven with 19, Lakeland with 15, Kissimmee with 9, Lake Wales with 3, Haines City with 3, Bartow with 2, Fort Meade with 1, Auburndale with 1, Frostproof with 1, Champions Gate with 1, and Mulberry with 1.
Watson Clinic’s Urgent Care South in Lakeland is one of the county's testing sites.
Dr. Jarett Gregory said daily about 20 to 25 people show up with coronavirus concerns.
“I would say out of the 25, we’re probably testing about 10 on a daily basis because they meet the criteria set by the CDC,” said Gregory.
He added the criteria for testing for the coronavirus is a moving target.
“What we’re looking for over last few days are individuals with fever, dry cough, travel, if they’ve had known exposure with individuals who tested positive,” said Gregory. In addition, patients older 55 years of age, that have chronic conditions such as lung or kidney disease, or have compromised immune systems are also often tested.
So far, Watson Clinic has tested about 225 people for coronavirus.
It takes about five to seven days to receive results.
“I don’t feel that we’ve reached the peak just yet," Gregory explained. "There’s a great deal of epidemiological studies that are ongoing that will help us assess when that peak will occur. Particularly in Central Florida, we’re probably still on the rise to some degree."
While the urgent care units of Watson Clinic are busy treating coronavirus patients, they're doing it all while more than 350 of their co-workers are at home, dealing with being furloughed.
The furloughs began March 23 due to the Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order temporarily banning elective, non-urgent medical procedures
The clinic hopes to bring them back sometime in May but that all depends on whether the governor extends his executive order.
Watson Clinic has 18 locations, across Polk, Pasco, and Hillsborough counties. The furloughed employees are from various departments.
Watson Clinics' locations remain open. The clinic is also offering telemedicine options.