COVID-19 Hospitalizations Are Increasing in Florida

To ensure we are equipping our readers with all the information they need, we will continue to report on all travel, safety, and COVID-related news that could impact a Disney Parks visit.

We’ve seen many things return to “normal” in both Disney World and Universal Orlando in Florida. Face mask mandates are largely gone, and mandatory physical distancing is a thing of the past. But experts are warning residents and visitors that the COVID-19 pandemic is not quite behind us yet.

COVID-19 Health and Safety Sign

Some analysts have stated that the US is out of the most dangerous part of the health crisis, with Dr. Fauci (the chief medical adviser to U.S. President Biden) stating that we’re “out of the full-blown explosive pandemic phase.” Even so, new variants of COVID-19 could still pose a threat, as we’re seeing now in Florida.

News4Jax has reported that over 1,000 adults are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Florida right now, which is the highest we’ve seen this number since March of this year (when 1,001 adults with COVID-19 were in hospitals on March 22nd). Currently, the total number of adult hospitalizations with confirmed cases of COVID-19 is 1,052.

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Note that this includes both adults who were hospitalized for COVID-19 and those who were admitted for a different issue but tested positive while at the hospital.

It’s possible that the uptick in hospitalizations is partially due to the new subvariant of the Omicron variant, BA.2.12.1. This subvariant is known to be more transmissible, although experts have said that it does not cause more severe symptoms than previous variants.

COVID-19 Signs

Recently, the White House predicted that “100 million people could get sick with COVID-19 in the fall.” This prediction comes as lawmakers hope to “provide more funding for vaccines, testing, and treatment” (News4Jax).

According to the director of infection prevention at UF Health, “The main message for everyone is, if you’re staying up to date with your vaccine and boosters for the COVID-19 vaccine, you are going to be just fine.” There is widespread immunity now, and getting boosters can help keep that immunity going. For further protection, face masks and physical distancing are still effective preventative measures.