Coronavirus: Daily COVID deaths in Florida reach all-time high

ORLANDO, Fla. — Daily COVID-19 deaths in Florida are now higher than at any point in 2020, according to data reported by the state.

As of Monday, nine Central Florida hospitals reported having intensive care units at capacity, with at least two over capacity.

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On July 4th, there were approximately 2,000 COVID-19 patients in Florida hospitals. Now, there are almost 17,000.

Justin Senior, CEO of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, has been monitoring hospitals in the state that are reporting ICU units at or above capacity.

“The patient loads are really high,” Senior said. “It’s putting a lot of stress on staff.”

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Most Central Florida hospitals are reporting less than 10-percent of their ICU bed space as being currently available.

On the other hand, vaccination rates in Florida have continued to trend upward. Along the coast, vaccination rates have increased by four to five percent since the end of July.

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The same is true along the I-4 corridor where Osceola County, for example, is now at 71-percent vaccinated, tying them with Sumter as the counties with the highest vaccination rates.

“You can see in the data that all of the vaccines work,” Senior said. The overwhelming majority of these patients are unvaccinated.”

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Cox Media Group