Tampa Bay hospitals report rise in COVID-19 infections

TAMPA — Emergency departments at Tampa Bay hospitals are reporting a significant increase in the number of patients seeking treatment for COVID-19 infections as new variants of the virus spread.HCA hospitals in the Tampa Bay region reported positivity rates of patients with COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, chills, congestion and sore throats increased from 14% to 35% in the past few weeks. BayCare hospitals are seeing a similar uptick with the positivity rate rising from 2% in May to 16% in August, said spokesperson Lisa Razler. State data shows that cases are up across Florida with the number of weekly confirmed cases increasing from about 5,300 in July to more than 9,400 last week. The number of COVID-19 deaths in Florida has also risen with a weekly average of 51 in July compared to 39 earlier this year. Infections are also spiking across the United States albeit at a slower pace, with a positivity rate of 8.3%, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. The agency estimates that infections are likely growing in 34 states. Surges in COVID-19 infections have become common in late summer since the pandemic. They’re likely the result of children returning to school or families taking last minute summer trips, said Lindsay Freeman, an attending physician who works emergency departments at several HCA hospitals. This year’s surge has so far not matched 2024 when Florida was reporting a weekly average of more than 1,300 cases. “Our free standing emergency departments have seen a lot of patients coming in symptomatic with COVID,” Freeman said. “If we really get nitty gritty into the epidemiology, a lot of people are being exposed at school or work and taking it home to the rest of the family.”Freeman expects that cases will continue to rise but said most of those infected are exhibiting mild symptoms. Variants nicknamed “nimbus” and “stratus” are among the most commonly spreading strains of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention variant tracker . Stratus, whose scientific name is XFG, was first detected in January in Southeast Asia. The earliest cases in the U.S. were reported in March. It is a sub-variant of the Omicron variant. “That’s good in that the the prior vaccine and boosters will still protect against this particular variant,” Freeman said. “We have not seen severe cases with this variant.”But the stratus variant can cause more gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea. It’s also is causing some patients to lose their sense of taste and smell, a symptom that was common with the original COVID-19 virus but less so in more recent variants. Patients who are at higher risk from COVID-19 because of existing heath conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma or obesity are being treated with antiviral medication like Paxlovid or Remdesivir, Freeman said. She urged residents to put renewed emphasis on good hygiene such as frequent washing of hands and covering your mouth when coughing. The surge comes as parents of young children are receiving conflicting information about the COVID-19 vaccine. The American Academy of Pediatrics this week issued a vaccine schedule that recommended COVID-19 shots for children ages 6 months to 2 years. It advised shots for older children if parents want their kids vaccinated.That is at odds with guidance formulated by the federal government since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was named Health and Human Services Secretary. It doesn’t recommend the shots for healthy children of any age but states that kids can get vaccinated in consultation with their physicians.Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in Florida. Here’s some health tips from BayCare Health System:• Avoid large crowds in small or enclosed spaces until the local COVID-19 positivity rate decreases.• Immunocompromised or medically vulnerable individuals should consider wearing a mask in close public settings.• If you experience fever or new symptoms (such as cough, sore throat, headache, nausea, vomiting, or other respiratory symptoms), use an at-home COVID-19 test.• If you test positive, stay home and avoid public spaces until you are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medications) and your symptoms are clearly improving.

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