COVID-19 hospital admissions on the rise in Southwest Florida

Snowbirds may be leaving Southwest Florida but the number of COVID-19 admissions in some hospitals continues to increase.

Lee Health has watched admissions rise from 89 to 109 people over the last few days.

Little things over the last few weeks feel almost normal. There are more smiles and less fear as people continue to get vaccinated.

“We just ate at a restaurant for the very first time the other day, inside, and I don’t know it was still kind of awkward,” said Amy Jones, who was visiting FGCU with her daughter.

Jones knows what it’s like to see family members get sick and become overwhelmed.

“That was scary because we didn’t know, that’s when all of a sudden, you’re like who has power of attorney, who has, it’s sort of like those questions that in your regular life maybe you didn’t have to think about,” Jones said.

A growing number of families are facing those questions, especially in the last two weeks due to hospitalization trending upward.

Hospitalizations are not nearly as high compared to Southwest Florida’s peak in July when Lee Health had more than 300 hospitalizations.

“This is the time of year when we have a lot of folks enjoying southern Florida for spring break,” said Dr. Mary Beth Saunders, medical director for Infection Prevention and Epidemiology for Lee Health.

NCH said having more people around means more people will get sick.

The season used to end around Easter time but now it’s closer to Mother’s Day. That and the fact that many are deciding to summer in Southwest Florida longer in order to avoid shutdowns up north is a perfect storm for COVID hospitalizations.

As for the increase in admissions, people are letting their guard down especially now that the vaccine is available.

Nancy Weatherly works in a hospital and knows some who have gotten sick post-vaccination.

It’s “very serious,” Weatherly said. “Should be taken seriously.”