The health director for Palm Beach County said the large gatherings in the city have been the cause for a spike in coronavirus cases.

Dr. Alina Alonso, the health director for Palm Beach County, said there have been some large gatherings in western communities and other parts of Palm Beach County that are contributing to the spread of the virus.

“In the areas of the Lake Worth corridor where there is a significant amount of parties resulting from birthdays, weddings, get-together barbecues, whatever you have that brings folks together,” Alonso said. “We see that after these events, we have spikes in the number of cases.”

However, Alonso also said that the county’s daily lab positivity rate is going down in Palm Beach County, and she added that’s a sign we’re going in the right direction because it indicates how much virus is in the community.

Alonso said masks and social distancing are working to slow the spread of the virus.

According to the latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health, there are 34,929 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Palm Beach County, including 861 deaths.