With Florida reporting record new COVID-19 cases and South Florida leading the surge, all eyes are now on hospitalizations, which generally increase about two weeks after a spike in infections.
Anecdotal reports and emerging evidence strongly suggest that the highly contagious omicron variant causes less severe illness than prior strains of the coronavirus, though public health experts emphasize that if more people get sick with COVID-19 — even a mild case — then the number of people hospitalized is likely to grow, too.
So far, Florida’s rapid increase in cases has not translated into a dramatic surge in hospitalizations. South Florida hospitals are reporting a rising number of COVID-19 inpatients, though many of those patients are being diagnosed after they’ve entered the hospital for a medical reason unrelated to the disease, such as a car accident or to deliver a baby.
