Florida mayor: COVID-19 numbers ‘doubling every 10 or 11 days’

The mayor of Broward County, Fla., Steve Geller (D), said Monday that COVID-19 cases in his county are “doubling every 10 or 11 days,” CBS Miami reported.

Geller reiterated the notion that the spike in virus cases is largely attributed to the unvaccinated. 

“The numbers are doubling every 10 or 11 days,” Geller said. “This is horrifying.”

Geller also said most intensive care hospital units are well over their capacity, saying that most medical facilities have to convert some areas that are not designed to be ICUs, CBS Miami reported.

NEWS CONFERENCE BROWARD MAYOR STEVE GELLER AUGUST 2ND 10AM https://t.co/94Wsl9t87f

— Broward County Government (@BrowardCounty) August 2, 2021

“This does not mean that they are not taking in new emergency patients. What it does mean is they’ve had to convert a lot of facilities that are not designed as ICUs,” Geller said. “They’re making their classrooms, they’re making their meeting spaces, into additional ICUs.”

Geller added that 190 children have been to emergency rooms due to COVID-19 complications in July, an uptick from 36 visits in June. 

Florida has become the renewed epicenter of the recent surge of COVID-19 cases, with the state hitting a record of 21,683 new cases over the past weekend since the start of the pandemic, according to CBS Miami.

Broward County will be reopening three COVID-19 testing centers in the coming week after shuttering earlier this year due to low turnout numbers, CBS Miami noted.