PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — COVID-19 cases are spiking so high in South Florida, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending people to wear a mask indoors.
According to the CDC, Palm Beach County's COVID-19 community level is high with a positivity rate of almost 20%. The agency is recommending to wear a mask indoors and on public transportation.
"I'm not surprised," said Dr. Olayemi Osiyemi, an infectious disease specialist with Triple O Medical Services in West Palm Beach.
Osiyemi said we’ve been seeing an uptick in COVID cases in recent weeks.
"As of today, we’ve had six people come in today into the office for treatment and we have more and more cases in the hospital," Osiyemi said.
Osiyemi said the reality is COVID cases are up and will likely go up even more after the holiday weekend.
"It may drop down a little bit, but then you have July 4th weekend coming up. A lot of people are traveling. Memorial Day weekend is the busiest weekend of the year, so you’re going to see more and more cases," Osiyemi said.
Some residents have mixed emotions about the CDC's new recommendations.
"We haven’t heard anything of it much lately. But I prefer to wear a mask. It keeps me safe," said resident Ashley Washington.
"I just don’t like it. I think it is a waste of time at least for now. We’re past that, I don't think COVID is ever going away, it’s not killing anymore," resident Kiddy Alli said.
Doctors said vaccinations and vaccine boosters help with the number of cases and severity.
Doctos still recommend people with compromised immune systems to continue to mask up.