SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, Fla. — Lee Health reports, 12 patients died from COVID-19 in Lee Health hospitals yesterday, August 18, 2021. This is the largest single-day total since the start of the pandemic.
They are urging the community to take action so more lives are not lost. Get vaccinated, wash your hands, and wear a mask and socially distance when out in public.
- Currently 598 COVID-19 patients isolated in the hospitals (inpatient).
- Of these patients, 6 of them are children under the age of 18.
- Yesterday, they had 95 new COVID-19 hospital admissions and 59 COVID-19 discharges.
- Currently, 57% on ventilators and 4% of the ICU rooms are available for use.
- They have 62 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 93 in the intensive care unit.
- Current census is at 96% of staffed operational bed capacity.
Since the start of the pandemic, they have lost 810 patients to COVID-19, including the 12 from yesterday. Of the twelve patients that passed away yesterday, only one was vaccinated. Lee Health CEO Dr. Lawrence Antonucci says many of the patients do not have underlying issues. He says getting the vaccine is the best way to stay healthy, but a backup plan could keep people out of the hospital.
“Things that we’ve been talking about since the pandemic, hand washing, social distancing, mask-wearing, have been shown to reduce the disease but not anywhere near as effective as vaccination,” He said. “In addition, we also have treatment for those who are diagnosed early; its monoclonal antibodies that we are administering to patients within the first ten days of symptoms.”
These treatments reduce the risk of hospitalization by 70 percent. Dr.Antonucci says even if we cannot eliminate COVID, the vaccination and this treatment will help keep people from suffering.
