Watch CBS News

FIU's Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Aileen Marty Finds Rise In COVID Cases Alarming

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - As Omicron continues to fuel this latest surge, local officials and specialists are doing what they can to mitigate the spread.

The demand for testing sites continues as new COVID-19 infection rates show no sign of slowing down.

Once again, people packed testing sights and at-home test key distribution lines on Saturday.

Florida International University's infectious disease specialist, Dr. Aileen Marty had this to say, "What we're seeing is one out of every 5 US citizens being infected."

Marty said the rise in cases is alarming to many health officials and that it will only get worst.

"Most of the US is experiencing cold weather, which reduces the time to do social activities outdoors, add poor ventilation and you have this highly contagious virus that is generally contagious before a person manifests symptoms," said Marty.

According to the latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health, from New Year's Eve to Friday, there were thousands more new cases state-wide and things are expected to get worst

"There will be a point where this peaks, but we're not quite there yet. Hopefully, within the next few days, we will reach that peak, and then they'll be enough people recently-infected that it will be unlikely that it will continue," added Marty.

"Then, it's going to start to go down, but remember this is not the last variant."

Dr. Marty says it's important to get vaccinated, tested, and quarantine if you're exposed.

"It is mainly the unvaccinated who are having severe disease and ending up in the ICU. There's no question the vaccines are helping keep people away from the hospital," adds Marty.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.