One new COVID-19 death confirmed among Manatee County employees

Another Manatee County employee has been confirmed dead from the intensifying COVID-19 virus outbreak that erupted among county workers last month.

Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes confirmed the death, which had been rumored earlier this week, at a news conference Friday. Hopes said the utility department employee was home under quarantine and became "rapidly ill". His spouse later found him deceased on Sunday. Subsequently, the spouse, also a utility department employee, has also contracted COVID-19. Hopes confirmed that neither of the employees were vaccinated.

"I can tell you the utilities department is one of those areas where there was a lot of vaccine hesitancy," said Hopes. "In addition to that, there was a lot of resistance to wearing a mask. And that's why you have so many cases."

This is the third death among Manatee County employees. The previous two deaths occurred during a COVID-19 outbreak in the county's IT department in mid-June.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/healthcare/2021/07/30/manatee-county-employees-new-covid-death-confirmed/5427448001/