WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — People wanting to see loved ones at JFK Medical Center’s Main Campus and North Campus, along with Palms West Hospital in Palm Beach County, are being greeted with signs that say “no visitors allowed.”
“In the very near future, all of our hospitals in Palm Beach County are going to be strained to capacity,” said infectious disease specialist Dr. David Dodson.
The state’s coronavirus dashboard shows hospitals in Indian River, Martin, and Okeechobee counties still have plenty of room in their intensive care units, hospitals in Palm Beach County are 72% full, and hospitals in St. Lucie County are 86% full.
Dr. Dodson said this record week of coronavirus diagnoses means more infected people will need to hospitalization in a week or two.
“When the numbers go up on the front end, the capacity of the hospitals are going to be stretched and I’m very concerned,” said Dodson, adding that there's a disturbing trend among people 45 and under, the fastest growing group of coronavirus patients.
“They tend to have less mortality,” said Dodson. “But it seems like, in a clinical observation, it seems like they stay longer to fight off the virus.”