Local

Florida braces for possible COVID-19 surge following spring break holidays

ORLANDO, Fla. — Some Central Florida doctors have said the lowering of age requirements to receive a COVID-19 vaccine couldn’t have come at a better time.

COVID-19 cases are up, hospitalizations remain steady, and doctors are worried about another surge after spring break.

Doctors are again warning that we are still in the middle of an outbreak and could see another spike.

Watch: ‘We are ready to take this step’: Florida expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to 40+ starting Monday, all adults April 5

Wild videos have been released showing large groups gathering for spring break parties in Miami.

Central Florida has seen a large increase in traffic and air travel since the start of spring break.

Centra Care said it has seen a 16% increase in positive cases in the last seven days.

Read: Coronavirus: Pfizer, BioNTech begin testing COVID-19 vaccine in children under 12

The last time Florida saw such an increase was after Thanksgiving and other holidays where people traditionally come together.

Other spikes in cases were followed by a rise in hospitalizations.

As of Thursday, Advent Health doctors said they have about 330 people in their hospitals. The numbers aren’t going up, but they aren’t going down either.

Watch: Central Florida see visitors surge as spring break begins

Spring break in Florida lasts for weeks, as visitors continue to pack theme parks and beaches over the month of March and into April.

With vaccinations going out and a general pandemic fatigue setting in for some, doctors said people are letting their guard down.

See the full report in the video above.

Shannon Butler

Shannon Butler, WFTV.com

Shannon joined the Eyewitness News team in 2013.