As daily records for the number of new Covid-19 patients are renewed around the state of Florida, many health experts now believe that the city of Miami can be considered the new epicenter of the virus much like Wuhan or New York City in the earlier months of the pandemic.
As of this writing, some 2,000 patients are in hospital beds, with hundreds of them being placed in the Intensive Care Unit. Lilian Abbo, a local health expert, was one of the health officials who likened the situations in Miami to that of Wuhan where the virus first spread.
After the first patient of the novel coronavirus was confirmed in December of last year, some 50,000 and more patients have contracted the virus in the Chinese city. As of now, some 64,000 patients have been exposed to Covid-19 in the county of Miami – Dade.
More worryingly, the fast and almost uncontrollable growth of new cases in the city are almost unprecedented. The number of patients who need to be hospitalized increased by 68% in the last two weeks, while the demand for ventilators increased twofold in the same period.
Nearly 50 hospitals in the state of Florida can no longer take new patients in their ICU because they no longer have any space. On July 14, a record 132 Covid-19 related deaths were reported in the state, renewing the previous record of 120 deaths in the earlier days of July.
During the press conference that was organized by the mayor of Miami – Dade county, Abbo plead to the reporters help the health officials in telling Floridians that what is happening is not just a rehash of the past but something much more dangerous.
Abbo is far from the only expert who has asked Floridians to take the pandemic more seriously as the number of cases continue to rise without slowing down.
Some denounce the state and Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ decision, saying that results such as this one was widely expected as the state began to reopen. Images of massive pool parties and beach gatherings only confirmed the uncomfortable hunch.
Although more than 3 million Americans have tested positive for Covid-19, the real number is likely much higher as many go through the disease without having any symptoms.
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Replaced!