Coronavirus cases continue to spike
Coronavirus cases continue to spike
07:36
At least 45 hospitals in Florida had no available beds in intensive care units as of Sunday afternoon as the state has emerged as the new epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration. Nine of those facilities are located in hard-hit Miami-Dade County and another five are in neighboring Broward County.
Of the 6,252 total ICU beds in the state, 5,035 are filled, meaning only about 19% of ICU beds are free statewide. Several of Florida’s smaller counties — including Nassau, Okeechobee and Putnam — have no available ICU beds, while a number of larger counties, including Seminole and St. Lucie, have under 5% of their beds available.
The number of new coronavirus cases in Florida topped 10,000 for the fifth day in a row, with 12,523 reported on Sunday. There are nearly 21,000 people hospitalized throughout the state, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Miami-Dade, the largest county by population, has about 23% of ICU beds available, while neighboring Broward, the second-largest county by population, has about 11%.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber issued an 8 p.m. curfew for the famed South Beach area in an effort to control the spread of the virus, CBS Miami reported.
“There has been some adherence to the mask rules, not nearly enough. At some points, it was resembling a bit of a party, an outdoor party. We can’t have anything resembling Bourbon Street right now in our community,” said Gelber.
In Miami, Mayor Francis Suarez said that starting Monday, those not wearing a mask will no longer be given a warning and instead will be fined immediately. Suarez announced the fine for not wearing a mask starts at $50. It goes up to $150 for a second offense and then $500 for a third offense, according to CBS Miami.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Saturday continued to insist the state has a high number of coronavirus cases because of large amounts of testing, although his comments do not reflect that the state has a postivity rate of 14%.
