TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Coronavirus patients currently at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Capital Regional Medical Center have doubled in the past week.
On July 21, 2021, TMH had 20 patients hospitalized after contracted COVID-19. As of July 28, there are 47.
CRMC had 24 COVID-positive patients on July 21. The number is up to 46.
These cases come with increased calls for the Florida Department of Health to resume daily coronavirus reporting, halted on June 6, 2021.
Leaders around the state have also called on Governor Ron DeSantis to issue a State of Emergency, something the governor says he won't do.
DeSantis allowed the previous emergency order to expire on June 26. At that time, the state's positivity and case levels had remained low for weeks.
The latest data, however, now shows a new surge among unvaccinated residents. It comes as the highly infectious Delta variant continues to rage.
Florida now leads the nation in weekly case and death totals, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The Department of Health & Human Services reported Florida hospitalizations are at 8,123, nearly what they were during the state's January 2021 peak of 8,233 and more than three-quarters of Florida's July 2020 peak of 10,179.
In Leon County, parents and activists are calling for the school district to mandate masks, rather than the current optional status.
In a statement, Leon County Schools said, "Though not anticipated at this moment, LCS will swiftly notify our community if there are any changes to the mask policy in the future."
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC recommend that all individuals, vaccinated or not, should remain masked in a school setting.
Physicians like Miami cardiologist Dr. Bernard Ashby worry hospitals are again at risk of becoming overwhelmed.
The governor calls the recent surge "seasonal" and expects cases to decline in August.
"Look, this is a seasonal pattern," DeSantis said during a news conference earlier this month. "We knew as we got to the end of June and July it would go up. That's what happened last year. It's not unique to Florida."
