Florida Marks 100 Cases Per 100,000 People In The COVID-19 Pandemic, In Dire Need OF ICU Beds

Florida might have seen a slight jump in the number of beds – with a total of 1000 ICU beds in the state as compared to 971 on July 16 -- but things continue to look grim for the pandemic-ravaged state.

As the infections surge, with 100 cases every 100,000 residents in the past week, there continues to be a dearth in the number of frontline workers and supplies. Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis urged people to keep the faith while assuring that approximately 100 nurses to be acquired strengthen the precarious Jackson Hospital System of the state's largest and hardest-hit county, Miami-Dade.

But, the question remains: Would it suffice? Well, the answer is a resounding no as Florida continues to grapple under the catastrophic viral outbreak, hence finding itself on the second spot amongst other U.S. states. Florida happens to be one among the 21 U.S. states that have been identified as a viral “red zone.”

Florida has the highest number of confirmed cases as of July 29. While the state decided to ease the restrictions on May 5, things spiraled out of control, only to have the state closed again sometime around mid-June. In July, a state of emergency was declared by the governor Ron DeSantis. The situation is likely to be lifted in September, there lies a great deal of ambiguity as a growing number of officials pressuring for the reopening of schools in August.

The U.S. continues to occupy the top spot in the list of countries to be worse-affected by the novel coronavirus. President Donald Trump amassed severe flak for downplaying the severity of the pandemic at its onset. Top US virus researcher Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his disapproval of Trump’s latest move, sharing a video that entailed claims about how wearing a mask isn’t really mandatory -- and termed it as “not helpful.”

The video was shared on Monday, was conjured up by a group called America’s frontline doctors. The video stressed the benefits of the scientifically unbacked anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine and also suggested that shutdowns weren’t really effective in combating the spread of the virus.