MIAMI (WSVN) - For the second consecutive day, the Florida Department of Health has reported a record-high amount of COVID-19 cases.
On Sunday, the state reported a record-shattering 15,299 cases of the coronavirus, and on Monday there were an additional 12,624 cases. Monday’s numbers are now the second-highest amount of cases reported in a single day.
These numbers are now the highest amount of new cases reported in a 24-hour period in the U.S.
“Miami is now the epicenter of the pandemic,” said Dr. Lillian Abbo with the University of Miami Hospital. “What we were seeing in Wuhan six months ago, five months ago — now we are there.”
Abbo said the irresponsible actions of those refusing to adhere to the government’s advice on social distancing and mask-wearing are to blame.
“You need to assume that that test is going to be positive and behave as if that test is positive,” she said.
According to the Associated Press, California had the previous record of daily positive cases — 11,694, set on Wednesday while New York had 11,571 on April 15.
“We have to get control of these numbers,” said City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “These numbers are out of control in the state of Florida.”
Suarez said the number of people on ventilators has reached an all-time high.
“Obviously we have the ability to be somewhat flexible and provide more [intensive care unit] capacity,” said Suarez. “Our all-time high back in March/April was 196 ventilators. We just eclipsed the 200 mark, so it’s inevitable that we’re going to see deaths rising in the state.”
Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease expert at Florida International University, said, “The quickest way to put out the fire would be a generalized stay-at-home order.”
Jackson Health, the largest hospital system in South Florida, is adding 180 nurses to help.
“In my hospital, I had 80 COVID patients. That is more than double the highest number we had back in March,” said Jackson South ICU physician Dr. Andrew Pastewski. “We’ve gone from one COVID unit to two, three, four, five, now we’re into six.”
Meanwhile, local leaders are stressing the continued importance of a consistent message.
“There’s a segment of our population that are not going to listen to anyone other than our federal and state officials,” said Suarez.
“Part of our government, state and federal, is very worried about looking bad, and those of us on the ground who are dealing with it, we’re just trying to stop this thing from surging through our community the way it is in Miami-Dade County right now in Florida,” said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez recently implemented several rules in an effort to control the spread, like rolling back on indoor dining at restaurants.
“We keep looking for a boogeyman,” said Gimenez. “We keep looking for this reason why we have this high contagion. ‘Well, we don’t have enough contact-tracing. Well, we don’t have enough testing. We don’t get it back fast enough.’ The reason is us.”
Democratic leaders in South Florida blamed the lack of a plan for the surge in cases.
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell, D-Fla., said, “The longer we wait, the more difficult it is going to be to implement these steps. I hope that the governor, and the mayor, come to their senses and work with all of us. Based on science, it requires a robust, coordinated effort between all levels of leadership.”
Local leaders on Tuesday are set to call on Congress to return from recess and pass a major stimulus to get federal aid to states, cities and towns to help in the fight againt COVID-19.
Suarez, Gelber and County School Board member Dr. Steve Gallon will discuss the cost of what they call ‘federal government inaction’ on Florida cities and towns.
Gimenez urged more attention be paid to the issue.
“We can do all the tests in the world we want. We can do all the contact tracing in the world we want. It’s not going to make a difference. We have to change our behavior,” he said.
Suarez said there should be a statewide, if not national, mandatory mask in public rule.
Monday evening, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the matter during a press conference in Miami.
“We have all guns blazing here. We’re going to continue to be providing support statewide, but particularly here in South Florida,” he said.
DeSantis said he is sending dozens of healthcare workers to Miami-Dade County.
“If you have ‘x’ number of cases, how many tests were conducted to be able to get to that many? People have talked about a record number two days ago, and then today, not as many but still a significant amount,” he said. “Two days ago, the state of Florida conducted 144,000 cases. Put that in perspective, when we were here in March, we were probably doing hundreds a day.”
At the press conference, DeSantis was challenged by activist Thomas Kennedy, who said, “You guys have no plans, and you’re doing nothing. Shame on you.”
“I told him and Mayor Gimenez that they’re an embarrassment to Florida, that they have been incompetent in tackling this public health crisis,” said Kennedy.
Jackson Health President and CEO Carlos Migoya said, “It’s not whether we opened too early, or we should shut everything down. The issue right now is important. If we can get everyone to be socially distant, and wear a mask.”
While 98% of ICU beds in Miami-Dade County are now full, DeSantis said this is no time to panic. He said his administration is looking at ways to speed up the process of obtaining COVID-19 test results.
“We’re hoping to see things improve over the next couple of weeks, because we are reaching a critical level,” said Suarez.
The call from Gallon and other mayors is set to happen at 3 p.m.
On Tuesday, it was announced that there are now 200 employees at Jackson Memorial Hospital who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.