ORLANDO, Fla. – Just in time for what’s expected to be a record-breaking Fourth of July travel period, coronavirus infections in Central Florida are on the rise.
According to AdventHealth, the number of cases coming into Centra Care has significantly increased. Last month, the average was 250 cases a week. There were 750 cases just last week alone.
“We’ve had a lot of tripling in the number of cases coming in with COVID-19,” said Dr. Timothy Hendrix, Medical Director for AdventHealth Centra Care. “Most likely this is KP.3, the new variant, one of the Omicron variants that we are seeing spread.”
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KP.3 and LB.1 are among multiple variants being tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While it’s not necessarily related to summer, there are multiple factors on how it is spread, specifically holiday travel.
The summer surge of infections started after Memorial Day, which Hendrix says is a pattern of waves of COVID-19 AdventHealth has seen in the past, typically with travel and people coming together. There will likely be an uptick after the Fourth of July.
Recent CDC data shows that it’s estimated that COVID-19 infections are growing in 44 states and territories. The CDC recommends vaccinations for everyone ages 6 months and older in the United States for the prevention of COVID-19. The new 2024-2025 vaccines are expected to be available in fall 2024.
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