Florida is living up to the title as the new epicenter of coronavirus in the U.S. The state reports that hospitals are suffering considerable ICU bed shortages Wednesday as COVID-19 cases continued to pile up by the thousands.
What We Know:
- According to Johns Hopkins University statistics, roughly 67,507 new cases reported across the country Tuesday was the second-highest daily number since the start of the pandemic. States like Wisconsin (4,407), Nevada (1,104), Oklahoma (993), and Alaska (360) shattered their previous records for numbers of cases recorded in a single day.
- Four states, in particular, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California continued to account for most of the new cases and deaths as of late.
- Florida, where the Republican convention is scheduled to be held next month, passed a dismal benchmark Wednesday with more than 300,000 cases of COVID-19 reported since the start of the pandemic.
- More than 77,000 cases were recorded just in the last seven days, bringing the total number in the state to 301,629, according to the Florida Department of Health. Tuesday was also the runner up as the deadliest day of the pandemic in Florida, with 133 fatalities.
- The search for beds as the medical world spirals into chaos with the surge is positive cases became increasingly harder with the Agency for Health Care Administration reporting 54 hospitals in the state now have zero available beds in their intensive care units. Another 40 hospitals are reaching that same fate with less than 10 percent bed availability in their ICUs. Ten of the hospitals, nearly a tenth of the hospitals reported, have no ICU beds are left are in Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade is the most populous county in Florida and now the state’s top coronavirus hotspot.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been one of many facing backlash for his way of handling the crisis, evoked more anger recently by referring to the rising case numbers as a mere “blip.”
