Jacksonville hospitals see number of COVID-19 patients plunge amid resurgence

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House Coronavirus Task Force say Jacksonville is in the red zone when it comes to coronavirus, local hospitals say the number of COVID- patients 19 here has decreased slightly.

A recent report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force says Florida and Duval County are in the midst of a complete COVID-19 resurgence and management at several Jacksonville hospitals have admitted to facing soaring.

But Chad Neilsen, director of infectious diseases for UF Health Jacksonville, said the numbers stabilized over the past two days.

“I think the mayor’s office has been a big help in expanding the mask’s tenure in Duval County,” Neilsen told News4Jax. “So while we’re not surprised we saw a spike, it could have been worse. We still don’t know if this British variant is still circulating here in Jacksonville. So add that to the mix, it could have been really explosive.

RELATED: White House Coronavirus Task Force Report Places Duval County In Red Zone

Even though the recent numbers look promising, Neilsen said public health experts were still cautious “and held our breath not to go up.”

There are currently 116 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at UF Health’s two facilities, 30 of them receiving intensive care. At Baptist Health’s five facilities in northeast Florida, there are 177 patients with COVID-19, including 36 in the ICU.

Now that vaccines are being given to residents of Duval County aged 65 and over, infectious disease experts like Neilsen say it’s a good start, but it doesn’t affect the population blamed for the spread contagious virus.

“It’s the 25 to 44 year olds,” he says. “People who are likely to go out to restaurants and bars and congregate. These are the ones we need to hurry and get vaccinated to really see a change in this pandemic.

Until that happens, experts say we must continue to take precautions and wear masks in public places.

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