Lee Health reports 287 COVID-19 patients isolated Tuesday, 8 deaths Monday

Credit: WINK News

New COVID-19 cases in the State of Florida are slowing down, but the number of more serious cases is still high.

Lee Health CEO Dr. Larry Antonucci said he believes we’ll see death and ICU admissions decline eventually, but we’re not there yet and it could take weeks.

Antonucci reiterated “these are people they’re not numbers.”

Lee Health reports 287 COVID-19 patients being treated as of Tuesday morning, with 28 new admissions since Monday.

As of Tuesday morning, there are 287 COVID-19 patients isolated in Lee Health hospitals (inpatient).
Of those patients, 11 of them are children being treated at Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.
Since Monday, there were 28 new COVID-19 hospital admissions and 36 COVID-19 discharges.
57% of ventilators and 6% of ICU rooms are available for use. There are 52 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 80 in the intensive care unit.
On Tuesday morning, hospital census was at 92% of staffed operational bed capacity.
Since the start of the pandemic, 1,109 patients have died at Lee Health hospitals to COVID-19, including 8 on Monday.

Watch Lee Health’s weekly COVID-19 community update below or click here.

Dr. Jordan Taillon, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist, said, “This week on consult, I’ve transferred seven patients from the floor to ICU, I believe all seven are on ventilators now so most likely seven won’t make it.”

He added, “The number of people in the ICU on the ventilator when you think if that’s your parent, brother sister loved one or even like Dr. Antonucci, it’s a kid, you’re a kid at Golisano.”

Lee Health offers COVID-19 vaccines for anyone 12 and older at its walk-in Community Vaccination Clinic, located inside Gulf Coast Medical Center. It’s open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for no cost.

Golisano Children’s Hospital nurse Nichole Shimko is a healthy active mother of three, and a recovered COVID-19 long-haul patient. She was never intubated or hospitalized but for the nine months that followed, she said she struggled every time she walked.

“Quite honestly, my mother might kill me for saying this but, it sucked,” Shimko said.

Shimko added, “That was the whole reason I chose to get vaccinated; I couldn’t put myself through that again. I couldn’t put my family through that again … it allows me to breathe a little bit.”

RESOURCES: