Hospital leaders at full capacity amid rising COVID-19, Orange County leaders say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The youths of some hospitals in Orange County have reached capacity amid the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, county leaders said at a news conference Thursday.

“They let us know that some of our hospitals are ready,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said. “We are working to try to understand how we can offer some relief in this regard. At the moment it is not defined.”

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This news comes after a News 6 investigation recently discovered that many crematoria in the area have also affected their ability to store bodies. Orange County leaders did not identify deaths from COVID-19 as a result of the increased body count; however, the owners of crematoria with whom News 6 spoke did so.

“We don’t get the details of why someone happened, but the (body) bags, we have a code that contains and we know they are COVID,” said Pam Springer, owner of West Side Crematory.

Demings said the county may have to contact Tallahassee for help in dealing with the surplus of bodies.

“It may require a request to the state to deploy additional portable refrigeration units,” he said. “We’re just doing an evaluation, right now, to determine the degree of criticism that doesn’t have the final answer today, but we’re working on it.”

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While not blaming COVID-19 for the problems facing hospitals, Dr. Raul Pino of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County said there has been an increase in the number of deaths from the disease.

The doctor reported 19 additional deaths, all of which happened in August. Of those who died, Pino said 14 had underlying health conditions. He added that it was unclear if the other five also had other health issues.

“Five of the 19 were completely vaccinated. And they were over 70 and they all had underlying conditions, ”Pino said.

He later added: “The reality is that vaccines are not and will never be 100% effective, there is no vaccine that is 100% effective and the fact that people are of legal age and have a condition (s ) pre-existing (them) with a higher risk “.

The doctor encouraged people who meet the requirements to get a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to get this booster.

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Pino said an increase in deaths was expected following the increase in COVID-19 infections the county has experienced over the past three weeks. However, he noted some positive news about the rate of new infections.

“The 14-day turnover (positivity rate) is 19.2%, down a bit. The maximum we’ve been in was 20.5%,” he said.

On Monday, the county had said children ages 5 to 14 had the highest percentage of new COVID-19 infections. Pino said this remains the same with this age group contributing approximately 20% of all new cases.