Florida grapples with surge in COVID-19 related deaths

The deadliest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic badly affected Florida. The state is under this situation for the first time since the pandemic started. The risk increased due to the presence of a highly contagious Delta variant.

Florida registered a higher rate of vaccination in the nation. On the other hand, the Sunshine State is having the majority of older people as the population. Older people are most affected by the COVID-19 virus. The party and social events are the major factors for the surge of the COVID-19 cases in the state. The government of the state has decided to make strict guidelines against the mask requirements and the vaccine passports.

In the month of August, the state recorded a high average of 244 deaths per day. This average was more than 23 deaths which were recorded in June 2021. These cases also surpassed the record of the peak cases of fatalities; 227 were registered in the last year summer.

Many hospitals have rented refrigerated trucks in the state to store dead bodies. The funeral homes are reported to be badly crowded.

A mother to 5 children, Cristina Miles, who lives in Orange Park, also gone through many losses. She losses her husband after who was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Within 2 weeks er mother-in-law died due to a similar reason.

The hospitals are getting full with the patients like the husband and mother-in-law of Miles. The unvaccinated people have been mainly getting affected.

The administration has been mainly focusing on vaccinating its senior citizen first. A professor of infectious diseases at the University of Florida, Dr Kartik Cherabuddi, said, “the raw number of those who have yet to get the shot is still large.”

Cherabuddi said there is also a big difference in attitudes toward masks in Florida this summer compared to that of last year. In summer 2021, “if you travelled around the state, it was like they would not really in a surge.