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More people in Florida are catching the coronavirus, being hospitalized and dying from Covid-19 now than at any other time in the pandemic, underscoring the dangers of limiting public health measures as the Delta variant tears the state apart.
This week, 227 virus deaths were reported each day in Florida, on average Tuesday, a record for the state and by far the highest number in the United States at this time. The average of new known cases reached 23,314 per day on weekends, 30% more than the state’s previous peak in January, according to a New York Times database. Across the country, new deaths have climbed to more than 1,000 a day, on average.
And hospitalizations in Florida have nearly tripled in the past month, according to federal data, stretching many hospitals to breaking point. The push prompted the mayor of Orlando to ask residents to conserve water in order to limit the strain on the city’s liquid oxygen supply, which is needed both to purify drinking water and to treat Covid-19 patients.
Even as cases continue to rise, with more than 17,200 people hospitalized with the virus across Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has been steadfast in banning vaccine and mask warrants. Several school districts have put forward mask mandates anyway.
Overall, 52% of Floridians are fully vaccinated, but the figure is below 30% in some of the hardest-hit counties in the state.
On Monday, dozens of Palm Beach County doctors and hospital workers gathered for an early morning press conference to urge the unvaccinated to get vaccinated, pointing out that the outbreak was overwhelming the health care system and destroying Lives.
“We are exhausted,” said internal medicine specialist Dr Rupesh Dharia. “Our patience and resources are running out.”
A growing proportion of the people who flood hospitals and die in Florida are now coming from younger segments of the population, particularly those aged 40 to 59, who were less vulnerable in previous waves of the pandemic. The Delta variant is spreading among young people, many of whom thought they were in good health and did not get the vaccine.
Dr Chirag Patel, deputy chief medical officer of UF Health Jacksonville, a hospital system in northeast Florida, said patients hospitalized with the virus in this latest wave tend to be younger and have fewer other health problems, but almost all are unvaccinated. Of those who have died, including patients between the ages of 20 and 40, more than 90 percent have not been vaccinated, Dr Patel said.
“We had more patients this time around who died at a younger age with very little to no medical problems,” he said. “They just come with Covid, and they don’t come out of the hospital.”
Two months ago, the number of Covid-19 patients admitted to the two University of Florida system hospitals in Jacksonville had fallen to 14. As of Tuesday morning, 188 coronavirus patients were in hospitals, including 56 in intensive care units.
One of the most difficult parts of his job, Dr Patel said, is having to tell family members that their unvaccinated loved one has succumbed to the virus. “It’s just a foolish and preventable way to end up dying,” he said.
Lisa Waananen, Alison saldanha and Sarah cahalan contributed reports.
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