News Update for 8/12/20

The latest Coronavirus test numbers released by the Florida Department of Health show that there have been 25 additional positive tests returned and 217 new negatives conducted in Highlands County.
Of the 16,358 tests administered locally over the past five months – 14,846 tests have been negative with 1,501 positive cases recorded.
There have been 163 people hospitalized at some point during their illness and 37 deaths have been tied to the corona virus since numbers started being kept.

Early voting is continuing in Highlands County with a few more walk-ins coming in to cast their ballots. Of the 10,707 votes cast so far, 2,310 ballots have been cast at one of the three early voting locations. The bulk of the ballots continue to be by mail, with some 8,383 delivered to the elections office.
Supervisor of Elections Penny Ogg said that other than an asymptomatic worker testing positive for the Coronavirus, things have been moving smoothly. That worker, who had been masked, now is in self quarantine.
Early voting goes on through Saturday in Avon Park, Sebring and Lake Placid. Primary Election Day will be this coming Tuesday.

One person was injured and the Southbound lanes of U.S. 27 were shut down for a time yesterday after a semi tractor-trailer rig collided with a pickup truck. The semi apparently T-boned the pickup at the intersection of U.S 27 and Lake Mirror Drive south of Lake Placid.
The driver of the pickup was airlifted to an area trauma center. Florida Highway Patrol officials have released no other information on the incident.

A 50-year-old Frostproof man has been sentenced to jail on drug counts. U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven yesterday sent Mario Alberto Rivas to 10 years in federal prison. Rivas apparently had conspired with others to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
Rivas reportedly had pleaded guilty to the charges back in February.