BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Brevard County leaders announced Tuesday they will bring back online coronavirus briefings starting this week.
Brevard County Emergency Management and experts with the Florida Department of Health in the county will provide weekly updates via Facebook Live starting Friday. Leaders in a news release said they are returning to online briefings due to the surging number of virus cases.
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The county’s emergency management office said the briefings will help inform people about the actions area leaders and the medical community are undertaking. The weekly address will also help provide resources on vaccination availability, testing locations and details on the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During the Facebook Live videos, the public is welcome to comment with questions. A panel of experts will be available to help provide information and context, county leaders said. People can tune in on the Brevard County Emergency Management Facebook page or the Brevard County Government page.
On Monday, Brevard County’s largest hospital system said it reached a record number of COVID-19 patients. Health First said it was treating 225 patients across its four hospitals in Cocoa Beach, Viera, Palm Bay and Melbourne and the majority of them are unvaccinated. Earlier this summer, hospital leaders said they were only treating 12. Health First expects these hospitalization trends to continue.
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With more being hospitalized over COVID-19, Health First is no longer allowing visitors for virus patients unless those patients are dying and has stopped non-urgent surgeries. Parrish Medical Center is also prohibiting visitors and has suspended non-emergency elective surgeries.
Florida broke another record Tuesday for admitted patients being treated for COVID-19. According to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, Florida had 11,515 hospitalized patients, breaking last year’s record. Data shows 138 patients are children and about 2,400 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care.