The latest Coronavirus numbers released by the Florida Department of Health show that there have been 31 additional positive cases and 159 new negative results in Highlands County.
Of the 14,787 tests administered locally over the past five months – 13,613 have been negative with 1,163 positives. There have been 138 people hospitalized at some point during their illness and 26 deaths have been tied to the corona virus since numbers started being kept.
Isaias now has become a Category One hurricane. The storm has hit the Bahamas and is heading for Florida. New tracks now show it brushing the east coast of the sunshine state. Latest reports show Isaias with winds of 80 miles per hour moving northwest at about 17.
Highlands County Emergency Management officials continue to ask area residents to review their storm preparedness provisions.
In preparation for the possibility of storm activity this weekend Highlands County is providing the public with sand bags. Those who want them will be able to get up to 10 bags per person today and tomorrow at the Highlands County Road & Bridge locations in Avon Park, Sebring and Lake Placid.
Bags will be brought to your car by a county employee.
Officials from the Highlands County Extension office say those seeds from China have popped up locally. Officials here say they already have fielded “a couple of calls” from folks who say they have received the unsolicited packages in the mail.
Reportedly, they are labeled as “jewelry,” but instead contain the seeds. Officials have not yet determined exactly what they are – but are urging citizens not to plant them. Local officials say anyone who gets them should report it to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 1-888-397-1517.
More problems for Philletta Moransit. The 29-year-old mother of Chance Peterkin reportedly has been sentenced to nearly three months in jail on contempt of court charges. Moransit and her son went missing earlier this week. The youngster later was found drowned in Lake Lelia.
Moransit had been held on charges of resisting an officer and child neglect. Reportedly, she has been uncooperative in the investigation as to how the child ended up in the water.
The contempt charges reportedly came during Moransit’s first appearance before Judge Anthony Rittehour.