There’s more than 2,000 Floridians hospitalized right now with COVID-19, and 32 of those are being treated at Sarasota Memorial Health Care facilities. A scary element for hospital staff, here have been 10 SMH employees infected by the coronavirus who are being monitored at their own homes, according to spokeswoman Kim Savage.

Sarasota County, according to Department of Health, has seen 184 individuals test positive for COVID-19, with another 172 cases reported in Manatee County. While the two counties together haven’t seen as many cases as Hillsborough County’s 631 positive test results, the disease has claimed 16 Sarasota and Manatee lives.

That means Sarasota has a mortality rate with COVID-19 of about 3.9%. Manatee's rate is almost 4.1%.

Eight of those fatalities passed away at SMH. The medical director through Savage said the region’s demographics are part of the story.

“He said some regions like south Florida have a younger population. When you risk stratify and break down by age group and co-morbidities, the rates we are seeing are consistent with averages reported globally.”

It’s a challenging time for a health care system tested by the spread of a global pandemic that has found its way to this region. At last county, the hospital system has 10 employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 since they started dealing with the pandemic. The hospital system at this point has tested 870 individuals, of whom just 72 tested positive so far with 62 results pending.

But 44 individuals have also been tested and released by the hospital, with follow-up monitoring provided by the Department of Health.