The more contagious Delta variant is now rapidly spreading. Florida saw 11,515 patients admitted to hospital Tuesday. This was a record breaking day for last year and surpassing the 1,000 that were in place in June. Around 2,400 patients are currently in intensive care.
DeSantis stated that he expected hospitalizations to fall in the next few weeks. He also claimed that the spike was seasonal because Floridians spend more indoors to escape the heat and humidity of the summer.
DeSantis said that his COVID-19 response, which has been focused on seniors and residents of nursing homes, is responsible for the fact that more Floridians are now dying than in August last year. Florida had an average of 180 COVID-19-related deaths per day in August. Last week, however, it was only 58. Because the disease is usually fatal, deaths don’t spike until weeks after being admitted.
He stated that even among many positive tests, there is much less mortality than you saw year-over-year. Would I prefer to see 5,000 cases in 20-year-olds, or 500 among senior citizens? I prefer the younger.
DeSantis said that media hysteria about the swelling numbers could cause stroke victims or people suffering from heart attacks to avoid visiting an emergency room in fear of becoming infected. The Associated Press interviewed doctors who acknowledged that this occurred in the initial months of the pandemic. However, they claim it is no longer true and are treating the usual number cardiac patients.
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, criticized policies in Texas and Florida that have blocked employers and proprietors from implementing vaccine or mask requirements to reduce the coronavirus. New York on Tuesday became the nation’s first big city to announce it will require proof of vaccination at restaurants, shows and gyms.
Psaki stated that “We are all in this fight together,” regardless of whether they’re Republican or Democratic governors. “Most Republican governors do the right thing… advocating for more people to be vaccinated and taking steps to make sure they do so. If you don’t want to help or abide by public-health guidance, then you should get out of the way. Let people lead their communities.
According to Dr. O’Neil Pyke of Jackson North Medical Center, Miami, many Florida hospitals face staff shortages. Some hospitals report that they are placing emergency room patients in hallways and others have banned visitors or delayed elective surgery.
Justin Senior, CEO, Florida Safety Net Hospital Alliance said that “they’re just coming into faster than we can discharge them.” He also stated that some of Florida’s most important hospitals care for low-income patients. He said that few hospitals will run out room because they can transform non-traditional spaces, such as conference areas, into COVID-19 units.
Penny Ceasar is responsible for admissions at a Fort Lauderdale hospital. She wants the governor require vaccinations for all health care workers as well as masks for everyone. Ceasar stated that while Westside Regional Medical Center is receiving temporary staff from other states it is now seeing an alarming increase in new patients.
Ceasar, a 30-year-old veteran, said that it is an emotional rollercoaster as patients are treated like family members.
Over the past three days, more than 50,000 COVID-19 cases were added by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the state. This brings the average seven-day count to the highest since the outbreak. The state has now seen 39,179 deaths and more than 2.6million cases.
DeSantis will be running for reelection in the next year, while he also plans to run for the presidency in 2024. His refusal to impose business restrictions or mask mandates is a central tenet that has helped him build a national image with conservatives.
DeSantis reiterated Tuesday that “we are not closing down.” “We will keep schools open. We are protecting every Floridian’s job in this State. We protect small businesses. These interventions failed repeatedly throughout the pandemic in America and abroad.
DeSantis encouraged people to get vaccinated. Officials at the hospital have stated that 95% of hospitalized patients and nearly all deaths in recent years were among those who had not been vaccinated.
DeSantis said that while you can still be positive for the disease, it is possible to make this less threatening for seniors. It is a massive, enormous thing.
DeSantis has been battling with local officials to determine how to protect staff and children as the school year starts.
Broward County’s school board reversed its decision to require facial covers after DeSantis banned mandates and threatened to reduce funding to districts that do not comply. Broward’s board had responded to the latest science on the virus and the latest recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The governor stated that parents should decide whether children should wear masks to school.
