Current:Home > NewsFlorida sees COVID-19 surge in emergency rooms, near last winter's peaks-LoTradeCoin
Florida sees COVID-19 surge in emergency rooms, near last winter's peaks
View Date:2024-12-24 10:08:21
Rates of COVID-19 have surged in Florida emergency rooms over recent weeks, according to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are now near peaks not seen since the worst days of this past winter's wave of the virus.
The weekly average of emergency room patients with COVID-19 has reached 2.64% in Florida, according to CDC data updated Friday, and now rank among the highest of any state during this summer's COVID-19 wave.
Trends from Florida have also climbed steeply in other key metrics that authorities now use to track COVID-19, including in wastewater and nursing homes.
Florida's steep increase in COVID-19 emergency room patients echoes that in some western states, which saw trends of the virus pick up in recent weeks.
Trends remain high across the West, though COVID-19 emergency room visits now appear to have peaked in Hawaii after recording some of the highest rates of patients in over a year.
"Over the past few weeks, some surveillance systems have shown small national increases in COVID-19; widespread as well as local surges are possible over the summer months," the CDC said in a bulletin issued Wednesday.
Nationwide, the majority of states are also now estimated to be seeing COVID-19 cases grow, the CDC's forecasters said this week.
A growing number of states have also begun to see COVID-19 increase in data from hospitals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday in its weekly report on the virus.
"Some areas of the country are experiencing consistent increases in COVID-19 activity, including increases in COVID-19 test positivity and emergency department visits and increases in rates of COVID-19–associated hospitalizations among adults 65+ at several sites," the agency said.
The agency has been cautious in recent weeks saying that this year's summer COVID-19 surge had arrived, saying that recent increases were coming off of record low levels of the virus.
"This past winter, COVID-19 peaked in early January, declined rapidly in February and March, and by May 2024 was lower than at any point since March 2020," the CDC said.
Outside of Florida and the West, rates of emergency room visits with the virus remain far from previous peaks, despite recent increases. Overall, the CDC says that nationwide activity of COVID-19 remains "low."
Previous years have seen COVID-19 activity pick up at least twice a year since the pandemic began, once during the summer or early fall after a lull during the spring, and then again during the winter, driven by new variants of the virus.
The closely related KP.2 and KP.3 variants are currently dominant nationwide, driving more than half of cases in recent weeks, according to estimates published Friday by the CDC.
Behind them, a mix of other variants have accelerated. LB.1 is next largest, at 14.9% of cases. And in the region spanning New Mexico through Louisiana, the CDC estimates a new variant called KP.4.1 surged to 17.9% of infections through June 22.
Alexander TinAlexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS News based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers the Biden administration's public health agencies, including the federal response to infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19.
TwitterveryGood! (2)
Related
- Benny Blanco Reveals Selena Gomez's Rented Out Botanical Garden for Lavish Date Night
- Man confesses to killing hospitalized wife because he couldn’t afford to care for her, police say
- These Foods Are Always Banned From the Met Gala Menu, According to Anna Wintour
- Calling All Sleeping Beauties, Reawaken Your Fashion With Pajamas So Chic You Can Wear Them as Outfits
- Best fits for Corbin Burnes: 6 teams that could match up with Cy Young winner
- The cicada invasion has begun. Experts recommend greeting it with awe, curiosity and humor
- Aaron Hernandez's Fiancée Shayanna Jenkins Slams Cruel Tom Brady Roast Jokes About Late NFL Star
- Anna Wintour Holds Court at the 2024 Met Gala in a Timeless Silhouette
- Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
- Zendaya's Best Met Gala Looks Prove Her Fashion Game Has No Challengers
Ranking
- NBC's hospital sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' might heal you with laughter: Review
- As the Israel-Hamas war unfolds, Muslim Americans struggle for understanding | The Excerpt
- Whoopi Goldberg says her mom didn't remember her after receiving electroshock therapy
- Obama weighed in on Kendrick Lamar, Drake rap battle 8 years ago: 'Gotta go with Kendrick'
- Diamond Sports Group will offer single-game pricing to stream NBA and NHL games starting next month
- Mother's Day brunch restaurants 2024: See OpenTable's top 100 picks for where to treat mom
- Ex-U.K. leader Boris Johnson turned away from polling station for forgetting photo ID under law he ushered in
- Georgia’s attorney general says Savannah overstepped in outlawing guns in unlocked cars
Recommendation
-
The Daily Money: Markets react to Election 2024
-
Mining ‘Critical Minerals’ in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Rife With Rights Abuses
-
1 dead at Ohio State University after falling from stadium during graduation ceremony
-
Two suspects arrested in fatal shooting on Delaware college campus are not students, police say
-
Miami Marlins hiring Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough as manager
-
These Kardashian-Jenner Met Gala Looks From Over the Years Are Amazing, Sweetie
-
Thief employs classic move to nab $255K ring from Tiffany, authorities say
-
The Deeply Disturbing True Story Behind Baby Reindeer