Lee Health equals highest single-day COVID-19 patient death total Wednesday

Lee Health equaled its highest single-day total of COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, losing 18 patients.

The patients ranged in age from 48 to 93 years old, according to a press release. Lee Health emphasizes that declining number of COVID-19 patients is not a reason to become complacent or to think the current surge caused by the delta variant is over, as its hospitals are still almost full, and its staff is still caring for many more COVID-19 patients than last year.

• As of Thursday morning, there are 495 COVID-19 patients isolated in Lee Health hospitals (inpatient).
• Of these patients, 13 of them are children being treated at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.
• On Wednesday, there were 47 new COVID-19 hospital admissions and 57 COVID-19 discharges.
• 44% of ventilators and 4% of ICU rooms are available for use. There are 73 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 87 in the intensive care unit.
• On Thursday morning, census was at 99% of staffed operational bed capacity.
• Since the start of the pandemic, 1,017 patients have died in Lee Health hospitals to COVID-19, including 14 on Wednesday.

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 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for no cost.