Miami is the new epicenter of the coronavirus

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, new surges create hot spots across the country

Jul 14, 2020

Covid-19 Cases Continue To Spike Upwards In Florida — Cars are seen in line as the drivers wait to be tested for COVID-19 at the COVID test site located at the Miami Beach Convention Center on July 13, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Coronavirus cases in the United States continue to break records in various cities. Now Miami, Florida has emerged as the nation’s new epicenter.

According to CNN Health , the south Florida tourist city has over 2,000 patients hospitalized, with hundreds in the intensive care unit. Those statistics are comparable to the number of patients in the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, the first epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

“What we were seeing in Wuhan, six months ago, five months ago, now we are there,” Lilian Abbo, a representative of the Jackson Health System said during a press conference, reports CNN.

Miami-Dade County has confirmed over 64,000 infections so far. The past two weeks have reached catastrophic numbers of cases with 68% of patients being hospitalized, 109% of ventilators being used, and eight hospitals reaching full capacity in the ICU.

The jump in cases is not unique to Miami. CNN reports a handful of cities have seen continued growth in COVID-19 cases in the past weeks. Rising coronavirus numbers in California, New Mexico and Oregon have caused state leaders to reverse reopening plans.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom restricted indoor activities at restaurants and movie theaters, museums and salons and ordered bars closed after the new surge in cases.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis press conference on the coronavirus. Miami is now the epicenter. the grio.com — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes his mask off to speak at a news conference on the surge in coronavirus cases in the state. Yesterday, Florida reported 15,300 new confirmed cases on Sunday, topping the previous U.S. record for the largest daily increase of Covid-19 infections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“Unfortunately, our state’s dramatically rising case numbers reflect that those behavior modifications and precautions have either not been taken seriously or taken up by enough people,” says New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.

The southwestern state tightened capacity mandates in restaurants, bars, and gyms after seeing a rise in positive cases. In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown ordered face-coverings in public and banned gatherings over 10 people.

The latest update from the CDC provided on July 13, 2020 reports 3,296,599 cases and 134,884 deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States so far.

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