Wuhan was the early epicenter of the global pandemic, with cases first diagnosed in December. Lockdown was initiated in January, months ahead of similar calls being made in the U.S. To date, Wuhan has recorded over 50,000 cases of COVID and 3,800 deaths. Miami-Dade County has already exceeded the first number with more than 67,700 cases; over 1,100 deaths in the county have been attributed to COVID, The New York Times reports. The death count may go up steeply as the hospitals in the county are overwhelmed. Data from the local government shows that, in the past two weeks, hospitalizations in Miami-Dade have ballooned 68 percent, ICU admittance has gone up 69 percent, and the amount of patients on ventilators has jumped up 109 percent. Almost half of the state’s hospitals were at at least 90 percent capacity in their ICUs last week, and one in five hospital ICUs were already completely full, per Fort Meyers News Press. Addressing reporters, Abbo said, “We need your help as media communicators to help the community understand that we’re just not repeating the same thing over and over just to give you trouble, we really need your help.” RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Despite rising numbers, Florida remains mostly reopened. Its stay-at-home order expired in early May; now, citizens can visit retail stores, dine indoors, keep salon appointments, and worship in groups. Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered bars to stop serving alcohol for onsite drinking in late June, but he has not yet announced any other plans to re-institute lockdown. For more on Florida’s challenges, This One State Is Now Responsible for 25 Percent of the U.S.’s COVID Cases.
