Seminole County COVID-19 hospitalizations at all-time high
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Seminole County leaders say COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county are at an all-time high, and officials expect it's only going to get worse.
County officials said 163 COVID-19 patients are being hospitalized in the county right now, which is the most coronavirus patients hospitalized in the county since the pandemic began.
In Orange County, health officials said there are 520 COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Seminole County Medical Director Dr. Todd Husty said the numbers are very concerning.
"We see spikes after group gatherings," Dr. Husty said. "It's just going to happen, which is scary because the hospitals are getting slammed."
Dr. Husty said cases could skyrocket after the Fourth of July weekend.
Florida broke the single-day record of COVID-19 cases on Saturday with 11,458 new COVID-19 cases.
"In about two weeks, we'll have a spike in cases from the Fourth of July and then seven to 10 days after that, we'll see a spike in hospitalizations, probably," Dr. Husty said.
Dr. Husty said there was a rise in COVID-19 cases after the Memorial Day weekend.
"We're still seeing the fallout from the younger generation that did the Memorial Day thing, but even after that, they continued to do other things," Dr. Husty said. "All of us really let our guards down."
In Seminole County, 19 COVID-19 patients are in the Intensive Care Unit.
Dr. Husty said two of the three people who died due to the coronavirus last week were in their 30s.
"It's a real challenge for the hospitals. They do have contingency plans as to other things they can do, but at some point, we just become New York and we're swapped," Dr. Husty said.
As the Fourth of July celebrations continue this weekend, Dr. Husty is reminding people to do their part to stop the spread by wearing a mask, washing their hands and social distancing.
"It's already pretty much going out of control, and the only way for us to fix it is for us to do what we know works," Dr. Husty said.