A sign is seen at the entrance of Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, Fla., on June 18, 2020.MARCO BELLO/Reuters
More than four dozen hospitals in Florida reported that their intensive care units (ICUs) have reached full capacity on Tuesday as COVID-19 cases surge in the state and throughout the country.
Hospital ICUs were full at 54 hospitals across 25 of Florida’s 67 counties, according to data published on Tuesday morning by the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration. More than 300 hospitals were included in the report, but not all had adult ICUs.
Thirty hospitals reported that their ICUs were more than 90 per cent full. Statewide, only 17 per cent of the total 6,010 adult ICU beds were available on Tuesday, down from 20 per cent three days ago, according to the agency’s website.
How many coronavirus cases are there in the United States?
Florida’s coronavirus cases have soared in the last month, with the state’s daily count topping 10,000 three times in the last week. The death rate from COVID-19 rose nearly 19 per cent in the last week from the week prior, bringing the state’s death toll to more than 3,800.
All ICU beds are filled at the three hospitals in Clay County, where the population is around 220,000.
Florida Governor Ron Desantis on Monday encouraged state residents to seek care at hospitals if needed, citing concerns that people with life-threatening conditions other than COVID-19 had avoided hospitals earlier in the pandemic to the detriment of their health.
“Hospitals are safe and Floridians in need of treatment shouldn’t avoid seeking care,” Desantis wrote on Twitter.
In Miami-Dade – the state’s most populous county – eight hospitals reported their intensive care units were filled to capacity, including North Shore Hospital with 56 ICU beds. The hospital with the most ICU capacity in the county, Jackson Memorial, reported that its ICU was 91 per cent full.
Miami-Dade County’s mayor rolled back reopening plans on Monday in light of the climbing case count, halting indoor dining at restaurants that had resumed business after an initial shutdown aimed at containing the virus’ spread.
Hundreds of scientists say there is evidence that the coronavirus in smaller particles in the air can infect people and are calling for the World Health Organization to revise recommendations, the New York Times has reported.
Reuters
Sign up for the Coronavirus Update newsletter to read the day’s essential coronavirus news, features and explainers written by Globe reporters and editors.