Coronavirus: Lee Health says SWFL is flattening the curve

Lee Health CEO Larry Antonucci says we have flattened the curve of the coronavirus in Southwest Florida.

Lee Health held a town hall meeting Thursday to discuss the latest on COVID-19 in the region.

Nearly 300 people watched and asked questions of Lee Health’s leadership during the hour-long meeting.

Antonucci’s main point: The hospitals are safe, so don’t be afraid to come back.

It quickly became clear lots of people study the numbers and wanted to know why we’re seeing an increase in people testing positive.

“A question coming in from Facebook. ‘Please comment on higher case reporting in Florida today, and please do not spin it,’” said Bill Hearn with a laugh, Lee Health’s physician leadership council chairman. “So no spinning today.”

“We have seen that number going up since we have slowly opened up,” said Alex Daneshmand, Lee Health’s chief quality and patient safety officer. “We haven’t seen higher use of a ventilator specifically or higher use of our ICU bed during the last two weeks. So those are the things that I watch closely to ensure that, as we’re opening up smartly our community, that we are not creating shortage.”

Social media commenters also asked about whether a second wave might be coming.

The doctors said that’s not what the trends suggest, but it’s not out of the question.

Lee Health urged everyone to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing.