New record reached: Lee Health has 657 COVID patients

Lee Health is reporting a rise in COVID-19 patients, including an increase of children visiting Golisano Children’s Hospital.

The hospital system currently has 657 patients isolated with COVID-19.

“The delta variant is extremely contagious and is affecting younger people at a higher rate than last year,” Lee Health said.

On Wednesday, the hospital reported 209 emergency department visits to Golisano Children’s Hospital, with more than half of those patients exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.

Since the beginning of July, 21 people under the age of 50 have died from COVID-19, including three people under the age of 30, the hospital system said.

“This is not a pandemic that only affects older people, and the coronavirus can cause devastating illness in anyone of any age,” the hospital system said.

Lee Health urges everyone to get vaccinated.

• Lee Health currently has 657 COVID-19 patients isolated in its hospitals (inpatient).
• Of these patients, 14 of them are being treated at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.
• Yesterday, there were 87 new COVID-19 hospital admissions and 70 COVID-19 discharges.
• Currently, 51% of ventilators and 5% of ICU rooms are available for use. We have 84 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 114 in the intensive care unit.
• Current census is at 99% of staffed operational bed capacity.
• Sadly, since the start of the pandemic, 870 patients have died at Lee Health our hospitals to COVID-19, including 10 yesterday.

Lee Health offers COVID-19 vaccines for anyone 12 and older at its walk-in Community Vaccination Clinic, located inside Gulf Coast Medical Center. It’s open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. and there is no cost for the vaccine.