Florida See Lowest Number Of New COVID Since Mid-June But Health Experts Warn It's Still Not Enough
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Monday marked the lowest number of COVID-19 cases in South Florida since the middle of June, but medical experts and officials say it's still not enough.
"We are already seeing a steady drop and improving numbers in the positivity rate," said Miami-Dade Carlos Gimenez.
Florida added a total of close to 2,600 new cases.
On the Miami-Dade's New Normal Dashboard, you'll find the number COVID-admitted patients has dropped close to 1,000.
Just two weeks ago, there was close to 2,000 COVID patients admitted throughout our local hospitals.
You'll also notice the number of coronavirus deaths have declined within the last few days.
That said, the daily COVID positivity rate is still stands at 12%.
"We need to get way under the 10% based on CDC medical advice before we start to reopen our businesses," Gimenez said.
Gimenez added that the White House and Dr. Anthony Fauci have warned to prepare for a fall surge of COVID spread.
They've advised Gimenez to tamp it down as much as possible before lifting restrictions, such as the current ban on indoor dinning at restaurants.
"They are advising to stay steady because those numbers aren't where we want to be. They are heading in that direction but we are not where we want to be," said Dr. Aileen Marty.
The infectious disease specialist at Florida International University said the number of cases should go down to a lower percentage before relaxing restrictions.
"This is still very high. When we originally opened or started opening up businesses in May, we were below 5% positivity," she said.
Dr. Marty said a fall resurgence in conjunction with other illnesses would only make it more complicated and harder to treat patients with COVID- 19.
"In the fall, we are always worried about other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza. So there is a great deal of concern of having those combined with COVID-19," she said.
