Florida Emergency Department COVID-19 Cases Increase Over Summer

MIAMI.- With the arrival of summer in Florida, hospital emergency room visits have increased in recent weeks, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Florida is seeing an average of 2.64% of patients in emergency departments each week with COVID-19 infections, one of the highest rates in the country this summer, according to federal data.

The latest statewide data shows that more people in the Sunshine State have been testing positive for COVID since late May, primarily in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Brevard County has reported more than 100 COVID-19 deaths out of more than 95,000 cases this year, according to the Florida Department of Health.

National growth

Health authorities said high temperatures have caused a rise in cases in 39 states across the country where cases do not appear to be declining due to a combination of factors creating an environment conducive to the spread of the virus.

The trend is high in some Western states that have seen a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, forecasters said in their weekly report on the virus.

Separately, they noted that emergency room visits related to the virus appeared to have peaked in Hawaii after recording one of the highest patient volumes in more than a year.

The medical facility clarified that COVID-19 cases have reached a peak not seen since the worst days of the virus wave last winter.

“Last winter, Covid-19 cases peaked in early January, declined rapidly in February and March, and in May 2024 were at their lowest level since March 2020,” they said.

People over 65 and those with weakened immune systems remain those most at risk of serious COVID-19 infections, experts say.

Wastewater Monitoring

Nursing homes and wastewater treatment facilities are some of the places where the spikes are occurring in Florida and other states. They are now being used by authorities to track COVID-19 because many people are using at-home tests and not reporting the results to health authorities.

“In recent weeks, some surveillance systems have shown small increases in COVID-19 cases nationwide; widespread and localized increases are possible during the summer months,” the CDC said in a report.

Currently, 15 states have reported high to very high levels of Covid-19 in wastewater.

Dominant options

The CDC estimates that the most dominant variant in the country is KP.3, accounting for about 33% of cases nationwide. It is followed by KP.2 with about 21% of cases and LB.1, which has accelerated this month from 14.9% of cases.

They project that in the region from New Mexico to Louisiana, the new variant called KP.4.1 has increased to 17.9% of cases as of June 22.

Three new versions of the virus, known as “FliRT” variants, are descended from the Omicron and JN.1 families that dominated most infections last winter.

Given this situation, Florida’s low vaccination rate is concerning. According to the CDC, only 9% of Florida adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in 2023 and 2024.

@Lydr05

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FOUNTAIN: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CBS News.