COVID hospitalizations rising at some Treasure Coast hospitals; nearly 200 in Cleveland Clinic facilities

Will Greenlee Mike Stucka
Treasure Coast Newspapers

The number of COVID-positive patients hospitalized at Cleveland Clinic hospitals on the Treasure Coast continues an upward trend — reaching 199 as of Tuesday, a top official stated.

The 199 patients Tuesday compares to 156 hospitalized Jan. 10 at the Cleveland Clinic facilities in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties, according to information from Dr. Richard Rothman, institute chair of hospital medicine for the Cleveland Clinic Florida region.

“In comparison to the delta surge, we are seeing fewer people require ICU care with the omicron variant,” Rothman stated via email. “We are also seeing fewer people who require respiratory therapy, such as ventilators and high-flow oxygen, than we did in summer 2021.”

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The 199 cases hospitalized Tuesday breaks down to: 87 COVID-19 patients at Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital in Stuart; 59 at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port St. Lucie; 47 at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach; and six at Cleveland Clinic Martin South Hospital who were to be transferred to Martin North Hospital, Rothman said.

“According to CDC data, positivity rates continue to range from 35% to 40% in Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie counties, compared to a statewide average of over 25%,” Rothman stated. “We are hopeful that the number of new cases and hospitalized patients begins to slow down over the next week or two, based on observations of omicron trends in other countries and across the United States.”

Information about the vaccination status of hospitalized patients at the Treasure Coast Cleveland Clinic facilities wasn’t available.

Earlier this month, non-urgent surgeries at Cleveland Clinic hospitals in the state were postponed and visitation policies were changed as the facilities experienced more patients hospitalized with COVID-19. 

There were 61 COVID patients hospitalized Dec. 30 at Cleveland Clinic facilities on the Treasure Coast, and 14 hospitalized on Dec. 7 and Nov. 29.

The greatest number of hospitalizations came Aug. 20 when there were 318 patients requiring hospitalization for COVID-19. 

In Florida 

Florida reported 408,841 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Jan. 16, down 3.4% from the previous week. Then, 423,150 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19 were reported.

Florida ranked 11th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States increased 5.8% from the week before, with 5,438,242 cases reported. With 6.45% of the country's population, Florida had 7.52% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 39 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the latest week's statistics. That data is being compared to a week with backlogged cases and deaths from the New Year's holiday weekend. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Indian River County reported 2,254 cases in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 1,404 cases. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 27,113 cases.

Martin County reported 2,497 cases in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 2,267 cases. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 27,341 cases.

St. Lucie County reported 5,621 cases in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 4,765 cases. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 62,722 cases.

Florida does not directly publish county-level death data.

Across Florida, cases fell in four counties, with the best declines in Miami-Dade County, with 93,321 cases from 110,441 a week earlier; in Palm Beach County, with 26,866 cases from 29,147; and in Broward County, with 48,103 cases from 50,254.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

A line of cars forms near the 77th Street entrance of the Indian River County Fairgrounds on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022, as community members take advantage of free COVID-19 testing, with a drive-thru site offered through the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County and Curative Appointments. The site is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments are strongly recommended and can be booked on Curative’s website. Appointments typically must be scheduled at least a day in advance; the site provides about 300 tests per day.

Vaccinations

Florida ranked 18th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 75.5% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 74.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Jan. 12, Florida reported administering another 495,312 vaccine doses, including 129,643 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 456,278 vaccine doses, including 116,996 first doses. In all, Florida reported it has administered 34,496,916 total doses.

Within Florida, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Miami-Dade County with 3,435 cases per 100,000 per week; Broward County with 2,463; and Alachua County with 2,427. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Miami-Dade County, with 93,321 cases; Broward County, with 48,103 cases; and Orange County, with 30,752. Weekly case counts rose in 63 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Duval, Brevard and Pinellas counties.

A total of 5,041,918 people in Florida have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 62,504 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 65,699,947 people have tested positive and 850,605 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Florida's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 16.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 16,971
  • The week before that: 15,986
  • Four weeks ago: 3,039

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 203,221
  • The week before that: 185,954
  • Four weeks ago: 90,739

Hospitals in 41 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 43 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.