Florida and other states across the Sunbelt are thinning out the deck chairs, turning over the barstools and rushing to line up more hospital beds as they head into the height of the summer season amid a startling surge in confirmed cases of the coronavirus. With newly reported infections running about
1 / 16Virus Outbreak MassachusettsSalvation Army worker Brenda Gonzalez, of Saugus, Mass., left, distributes food to an unidentified man while others impacted by the coronavirus wait in line at a Salvation Army center, Tuesday, June 30, 2020, in Chelsea, Mass. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.
Hospitals in the new hot spots are already stretched nearly to the limit and are scrambling to add intensive care unit beds for an expected surge in COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks. In hard-hit Arizona, hospitals are looking for ways to cram more beds into their facilities and hiring out-of-state nurses. State officials have authorized “crisis standards of care” telling hospitals which patients should get a ventilator or other scarce resources if there is a shortage.
“I definitely think the air conditioning and the oppressive heat in the South is going to play a role in this,” she said. Savannah, population 145,000, becomes one of the first cities in Georgia to take such a step. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has largely prohibited local governments from imposing rules stricter than the state's.
Health officials say the next several weeks will be critical in Florida. The Fourth of July, the reopening of Walt Disney World on July 11, and the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville at the end of August promise to draw crowds and create the potential for person-to-person spread.
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