Hospitalizations hit new high
168 admitted to Orange County facilities as new case count also skyrockets in area
Nearly 170 people were hospitalized with coronavirus in Orange County by Wednesday evening — the most ever since the pandemic hit Central Florida in March — while positive cases also skyrocketed.
The 168 hospitalizations are up from 135 people on Sunday. The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU was about 35, up from fewer than 20 a week ago.
“We have some significant challenges going forward,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said at an evening briefing, describing the latest figures — 554 new cases added Wednesday — as sobering.
The death toll in Orange County is now 56 people.
In neighboring Seminole County, the virus is spreading exponentially with a record-setting 176 cases reported on Tuesday, a nearly 50% increase from a week ago.
”Right now, this virus is after us,” said Dr. Todd Husty, Seminole’s medical director.
Seminole reported 56 hospitalized COVID-19 patients on Wednesday, up 10 from just two days ago.
There are 86 Orlando firefighters who tested positive for the virus and are under a 14-day quarantine. In addition, four women inside
the Orange County Jail tested positive, raising concerns that the virus is spreading inside the facility.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer noted the earlier progress the region made in flattening the curve of cases has faded since people became more unguarded about social gatherings again.
“That just shows you the science is right,” he said “We have to be wearing masks and doing the social hygiene thing.”
In a sign of the economic toll the pandemic is taking, Dyer also announced the city would give another $50,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to help feed the hungry as unemployment continues to rise.
About 58% of all coronavirus cases in Orange County have been diagnosed since June 11, which means 3,764 cases have been added over the most recent 13 days, said Dr. Raul Pino, officer for the Florida Health Department in Orange.
“Since Memorial Day weekend, we have very, very active transmission in our community,” Pino said.
New data also shows infected people are younger: the median age is 29 and 60% of all people diagnosed in the past two weeks were between ages 20 and 40 in Orange County
Dr. George Ralls of Orlando Health and Dr. Vincent Hsu of AdventHealth noted increasing COVID cases in their hospitals since early June.
“We are currently at the highest census we’ve ever had for COVID,” Hsu said, citing statistics for the network’s eight hospitals in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.
Hsu and Ralls addressed the mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force, which met earlier in the day Wednesday.
“We’re not in a crisis mode right now, but we’re very concerned about this increase,” Hsu said.
Pino said face masks, social-distancing and other guidelines suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have proven effective in quelling the virus.
“Wear your mask, wash your hands, watch your distance,” Pino said. “If you do that, we’ll be fine.”
Demings, who issued a mandate July 18 requiring face masks to be worn in public, acknowledged that some people don’t believe masks work.
But Pino, who has served in public health roles for more than a decade, disputed the view that masks are ineffective.
He said there are few options to protect people from COVID-19 beyond wearing masks, which block respiratory droplets that may carry the virus.
“It’s not only protecting ourselves but showing respect for the lives of others,” he said.
Chuck Whittall, CEO of Unicorp National Developments and a member of the mayor’s task force, said he believes the root of the spike is younger people packing bars.
“They have very loud music so the only way you can communicate is to talk loudly and spit over each other,” he said.
The mayor acknowledged a compliance problem at bars.
“Unfortunately we have some bad apples who have not followed the guidelines,” he said, without naming the establishments.
At least 28 customers tested positive for the virus after visiting the Knight’s Pub, a bar across the street from the University of Central Florida, as well as 13 employees, according to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The agency suspended the pub’s liquor license because it wasn’t following social distancing and other guidelines.
The bar owner said in a statement Wednesday he voluntarily closed the pub June 9, three days after reopening, after a patron complained of possible virus symptoms.
He also said he had adhered to the 50% capacity limit and other guidelines.
The task force, asked to help businesses reopen safely, also got a sneak peek at a public-health campaign to urge businesses and patrons to “Do Your Part.”
The campaign will be conducted on social media through the hashtag #doyourpartorl.
The effort will encourage people to talk about their experiences “and also create that peer pressure among businesses to make sure they’re following guidelines and doing the right thing,” said Laureen Martinez of the Orlando Economic Partnership who presented details of the campaign. It will be unveiled Friday at the mayor’s State of the County address.