ORLANDO, Fla. – Officials with AdventHealth are reporting an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as the omicron variant of the virus continues to spread through Central Florida.
During a virtual news briefing Wednesday, the health system reported 630 coronavirus hospitalizations, which is about half of the delta variant surge in August.
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Dr. Vincint Hsu, AdventHealth’s executive director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiologist, said hospital workers continue to keep their guard up during the increase.
“We are managing, at this point, pretty well with the current surge,” Hsu said. “We recognize that this is still a surge that is rising. So, we have to continue to remain vigilant.”
According to AdventHealth, the positivity rate at Centra Care urgent centers is 40%, which is an all-time high.
“With the Centra Care numbers, with what we’re seeing in the community, we have not hit our peak. We are still on the rise right now,” Hsu said.
Currently, AdventHealth’s capacity remains at green status, but the surge in cases has had an impact on staffing at hospitals.
“We have seen a greater number of staff members that have come down with COVID that are not able to work,” Hsu said. “Because of those issues, we are really managing the staff as carefully as possible, so as to manage the increasing numbers.”
Hsu said omicron has tended to be a milder variant but is still a serious virus that can cause severe disease.
With the peak of the latest surge likely a couple weeks away, medical experts are continuing to stress the importance of precautions and getting the vaccine.
“Right now, the best thing we can say is take action,” Hsu said. “There are things that you can do. Get vaccinated, get your booster, and hopefully that will be what we need to have a relatively normal life moving forward.”