- April 23, 2024
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It’s been two weeks since the town of Longboat Key had its most recent resident test positive for COVID-19.
It’s welcoming news amid a weeks-long pandemic that tends to affect older people and those with underlying medical conditions. Longboat Key is a community where 69% of the town’s nearly 7,000 full-time residents are older than the age of 65.
“I think we have to recognize that the community has responded well to the restrictions and the guidelines that are out there that are asking them to stay home and minimize their interaction,” Town Manager Tom Harmer said.
As of Friday afternoon, data from the state shows Longboat Key’s 34228 zip code has less than five confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Harmer cited projections from the Florida Department of Health, saying late April or early May would be the “projected peak” for coronavirus cases in Longboat Key and in the state.
“There are a number of new cases every day in Sarasota County and in Manatee County, and so the virus is still very active. We’re still in the active stage,” Harmer said. “The public health community doesn’t believe that we’ve hit the peak yet.”
On April 10, Harmer issued an executive order that extended many of the town’s closures, suspensions and cancellations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
It includes closing public beach access parking, the Quick Point and Overlook Park parking lots, the Public Tennis Center, the town’s Recreation Center at Bayfront Park, the amenities at Bayfront Park and town facilities, including Town Hall.
Town staff is still accessible to the public by phone and email.
“Even though our doors are not open to the public, we still have employees in every department still doing the things that they need to do and, and people can still get service from the town,” Harmer said.
The town is expected to re-evaluate the order on or before May 1.
“I’m not sure what will happen on May 1, but we are looking at that on a daily basis,” Harmer said. “As we get closer to May 1, we may be extending the current conditions another couple weeks, or we may tweak them a little bit. It just depends on where we’re at two weeks from now.”
The exact number of deaths of Longboat residents or visitors has been hard to ascertain.
"We are not notified if someone passes away,” Harmer said. “We are notified of new positives within zip codes. That’s the most accurate information we get because of federal HIPAA requirements, etc. They [the Florida Department of Health] will not notify us and tell us patient information about an individual and/or where an individual lives.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has put together a website that provides guidance to explain civil rights laws and how the HIPAA privacy rule allows patient information to be shared in the outbreak.
The public boat ramp on Linley Street reopened on April 13 after it had been closed March 26. The town’s decision to reopen the Linley Street ramp came after Manatee County commissioners voted to open all county boat ramps.
However, Harmer does not envision reopening anything else between now and the end of April.
In the state of a local emergency, Longboat Key — which is in both Manatee and Sarasota counties — falls under the coordination and direction of Sarasota County.
Harmer said it was “critical" for the area municipalities to work together during the pandemic despite differences in infrastructure, population density and demographics.
“We all recognize that we may do things a little bit differently,” Harmer said. “But having a common message on certain things, like the CDC guidelines and how they can be enforced and how we all convey that message together is, I think, very important.”
Since the coronavirus outbreak began, several organizations have teamed up to encourage social distancing and limit person-to-person contact. It includes several monetary donations worth thousands of dollars.
“We appreciate that our businesses are taking whatever actions they can,” Harmer said. “Publix has taken a number of actions over the past few weeks to try and make Publix as safe as possible. Their curbside delivery, I’ve personally now taken advantage of that a couple of times.”
On April 11, the Publix at 525 Bay Isles Parkway launched its curbside pickup service.
“The whole curbside [service] that Publix is offering now has tremendously helped,” said Longboat Key Fire Rescue spokesperson Tina Adams, who oversees the town’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors program.
At the start of the month, the town began offering the support line at 941-316-8702. The line is available for residents to call from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The program is for non-emergency services like getting groceries or medications for residents, helping them with technology or even simply just talking with someone else on the other end of the line.
If residents need it, Adams said Neighbors Helping Neighbors volunteers can pick up their Publix groceries using the curbside service.
The program is comprised of 32 volunteers, who work with three “region captains": Kiwanis president Lynn Larson, Rotary president Nancy Rozance and Pam Anderson.
“The way that they're coming together to help each other out — even though we're all social distancing — a lot of residents have to stay inside,” Adams said. “We still have people that want to volunteer even if they have to stay inside, [they ask,] ‘what can I do?’ And, just to simply see that, is encouraging. It’s a great community to live in and to work for, and it’s just simply rewarding.”
