Florida ‘heading a million miles an hour in the wrong direction’ as COVID-19 cases keep rising, doctor says

“I met with our medical experts this afternoon to discuss what other steps we can take to stop the spread of virus infection and ensure that our hospitals have sufficient capacity,” he said Thursday. “At this time, we have plenty of beds, but some hospitals are experiencing staffing shortages.”

The mayor’s order also tightens mask rules at restaurants, requiring customers to wear facial coverings at all times unless eating or drinking. Under the previous order, customers were allowed to remove masks when they sat down.

Last week officials in Miami-Dade and other counties, including the Florida Keys, announced that beaches would be closed during the long Fourth of July weekend.

Gimenez said Miami-Dade police will be checking businesses throughout the holiday weekend to enforce mask and capacity rules, and closing establishments in violation.

“I do not want to go back to closing all but essential businesses, but the only way to avoid that is for everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” Gimenez said in a statement. “That means every generation – every one of us, no exceptions.”

The latest county statistics show more than 1,300 COVID patients in Miami hospitals. Of those, 281 are in intensive-care beds, occupying about 63% of the ICU beds that would be otherwise available.

The state’s health department releases a daily cumulative tally of new hospitalizations of people who test positive for the virus, but does not provide statewide numbers of COVID-19 patients currently in hospitals, ICU beds or on ventilators. Ventilator use and ICU occupancy are key indicators of the severity of the outbreak because not everyone who becomes infected with the coronavirus develops serious symptoms.

The state releases daily reports on available ICU beds, statewide, by county and by individual hospital — but those numbers don’t include how many are occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Statewide, about 20 percent of ICU beds are currently available, though some hospitals have additional capacity that can be turned into ICU units if need be.

Meanwhile, a group of legislators urged Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday to require Floridians wear masks. The group of 10 Democratic lawmakers includes state Representative Shevrin Jones, a South Florida lawmaker who announced Tuesday that he had been infected by the coronavirus.

They want the governor to make it mandatory for Floridians to wear masks to cover their noses and mouths while in public spaces, indoors and outdoors, when social distancing isn’t possible. The governor has thus far resisted those calls, even as Texas Governor Greg Abbott, another Republican, moved to do so Thursday.

“This is not a partisan issue; this is an issue of life and death,” the legislators said in a letter to DeSantis. “This small but important gesture will have big consequences for the greater good.”

On Wednesday, Florida recorded its youngest death from the coronavirus — 11-year-old Daequan Wimberly, who died after 12 days in the hospital. His adoptive father, Pastor Jerry Wimberly, was hospitalized with the virus when Daequan died.