MIAMI (WSVN) - There are a staggering number of new COVID-19 positive cases across the Sunshine State, but Miami-Dade County has seen a drop in its positivity rate.
Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez met with federal officials and Miami-Dade leaders Wednesday, including Mayor Carlos Gimenez, to discuss the uptick in coronavirus cases and ways to lower the positivity rate and keep it down.
“The numbers continue plateauing as the governor has said, that’s a good sign, but still, we’re very concerned,” she said.
During a coronavirus task force meeting, President Trump said, “We’re closely monitoring and aggressively acting to control the infection in Texas, Arizona, Florida, California. Arizona is starting to come down, done a very good job. They’re all doing a very good job.”
That’s the message from Nunez, as she met with Miami-Dade leaders addressing the local response to the COVID-19 crisis.
“Of course they’re concerned. Of course the uptick of cases is something that’s concerning,” Nunez said.
Concerns that have been voiced from those on the front lines for weeks as case counts continue to rise in South Florida and the state. As of Wednesday, more than 9,700 new cases were reported — close to 2,800 of them in Miami-Dade, 1,170 in Broward and 43 in Monroe. The state’s death toll is now up to 5,345 Florida residents.
Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease expert at FIU, said, “Way above capacity in terms of not just beds that are standard ICU beds, but beds we’re converting to ICU beds. There are some patients that have to be doubled up in rooms, our healthcare workers are getting sick.”
“We understand we are going to continue to see this for a little while,” Nunez said.
While COVID-19 hospital admissions continue to climb, ICU capacity has floated around 130% over the past week.
“We understand there is still ICU capacity. That’s something people still have a lot of angst over. At this point, there is no concern from a hospital that is running out of space,” Nunez said.
That’s because there are roughly 1,200 beds on standby throughout the county, including the transformed and currently idle Miami Beach Convention Center.
“We understand there is still ICU capacity, that’s something people have a lot of angst over. We do recognize that there are challenges with staffing, which is why the state is prepared — and has done so already — sending additional support staffing, nursing and other staffing, other health professionals,” Nunez said.
But one metric is showing some hope. Miami-Dade’s positivity rate, which at one point came close to 30%, is now standing at 16%. The 14-day average was 20%.
“Those are signs that things are starting to get better. Again, it’s going to be a challenge. We’re going to continue to work through this, but we’re confident we’ll get through on the other side,” Nunez said.
The 130% capacity rate does not include the over 1,200 beds that are on standby.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.