TAMPA, Fla. – COVID-19 is surging.
“Don’t fall asleep with COVID yet,” Dr. Kelly said. Jill Roberts of the USF School of Public Health.
The CDC reports there is an increase in COVID-19 test positivity after months of decline.
“I see that some signals are trending upwards. And so positivity is expanding again. Emergency room visits are increasing again,” Roberts said.
A new figure from the CDC shows that emergency room visits for COVID-19 are higher since this winter.
“Over the last month at Centra Care, we’ve noticed that the number of COVID-positive patients has tripled,” said Dr. Timothy Hendrix, chief medical officer of AdventHealth Centra Care Urgent Care.
According to projections, the FLiRT KP. 2 and KP. 3 variants account for about 61. 3% of new COVID-19 cases.
The most recent mutation, LB. 1, is gaining momentum in the United States and now accounts for about 14. 9% of new cases.
In Florida, the CDC is tracking “very high” levels of the COVID-19 virus in wastewater.
“Now we’re seeing more and more people coming in with those COVID symptoms, which are very similar to flu-like fever, cough, sore throat and fatigue,” Hendrix said.
Doctors explain the increase for several reasons, adding new variants and the celebrations of the 4th of July festivities.
“The trend we see is that if there is a new variant and a holiday, we will see an increase in cases,” Hendrix said.
“I think the other thing that could potentially have an effect is heat warnings. Heat warnings will send other people indoors and concentrate more people indoors,” Roberts said.
While the summer is expected to break records, fitness officials expect more cases to follow.
“As schools expand in the North, Midwest and West and tourism comes to Florida, we anticipate we will most likely see an increase in our COVID numbers,” said Dr. Lisa Cronin, pediatrician. from the children’s hospital. Medical Center.
Doctors are encouraging others to get tested for COVID-19 if they feel in poor health and to stay home to limit the spread.
If at-home tests have been done over the years, experts have said they will most likely continue to work.
“The FDA has extended the expiration dates on those home tests,” Hendrix said.
“If your tests have expired, they probably still work, but pay attention to that Array line. If your Array line comes back positive, you’re probably fine,” Roberts said.
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