Orlando (US), Aug 1 (AP) A day after reporting the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke the previous record for hospitalizations as the number of patients in hospitals due to COVID-19 The numbers once again broke the 1,000-person threshold. In the Sunshine State, 10,207 people were hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The previous record was from more than a year ago, July 23, 2020, when there were 10,170 hospitalizations in Florida, more than half a year before vaccination became widespread, according to the Florida Hospital Association. Florida is now leading the nation in hospitalizations per capita for COVID-19, as reports of emergency room visitors at state hospitals over beds in hallways and others document a noticeable decline in the age of patients. In the past week, Florida has averaged 1,525 adult hospitalizations, and 35 daily pediatric hospitalizations. Both have the highest per capita rates in the country, according to Jason Salemi, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida.
Hospitalizations and rising cases come as new, more communicable Delta variants spread across Florida, and residents return to pre-pandemic activities. Salemi said in an email late Saturday that the recent increase is both surprising and surprising. Federal health data released on Saturday showed Florida reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic. The latest numbers were recorded on Friday and released on the website of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday. The figures show how fast the number of cases is rising in the Sunshine State: Just a day earlier, Florida reported 17,093 new daily cases.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has opposed mandatory mask mandates and vaccine requirements, and along with the state legislature, limited the ability of local officials to impose restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19. DeSantis on Friday barred school districts from requiring students to wear masks when classes resume next month. Across Florida, from Jacksonville to Miami to Tampa, hospitals have been overwhelmed.
Pinellas County Administrator Barry Burton told the Tampa Bay Times that some local hospitals are already having to divert ambulances to different locations because of capacity concerns. There has been an astonishing increase in the number of children in Miami hospitals with the virus, many of whom are in need of intensive care.
There were seven patients with COVID-19 at Memorial Health’s Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. At Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, there were 17 patients with COVID-19 on Friday, including six in the ICU and one in need of a ventilator, Dr. Marcos Mestre, vice president and chief medical officer, told the Miami Herald. About half of the patients were under the age of 12, Mestre said, and the rest were older and eligible for the vaccine. But no COVID-19 patients were vaccinated at Nicklaus Children’s on Friday. Mestre said most children who get COVID-19 do not need hospitalization.
In the emergency room of UF Health North Hospital in Jacksonville, COVID-19 patients were once again being bedded in hallways as visits increased. For many hospital workers, until a month ago, it seemed like there was light at the end of the tunnel, as people vaccinated and hospitalizations dwindled. But then a summer boom powered by the new Delta version hit Florida in July. Marsha Tittle, a nursing manager at UF Health North, told the Florida Times Union that in this case that light became a train. We are taking in more patients than usual… My staff is amazing. You get out there, they’re going to have a smile on their face and they’re doing a great job. But there is a feeling of defeat, as if they have lost. (AP).
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