JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The number of patients at Baptist Health hospitals with COVID-19 has tripled from last week.
On Dec. 22, Baptist Health reported it had only 19 patients with COVID-19 across the five hospitals in the area.
"At this point, our numbers remain stable and we haven’t seen any recent trends," Baptist Health said in a Dec. 22 statement.
RELATED: 'Our numbers remain stable' | As COVID infections rise, hospitalizations remain low in Jacksonville
On Wednesday, Baptist Health said 65 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19.
Of the 65, four patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
There are four children with COVID-19 at Wolfson Children's Hospital, though none of them are in the ICU.
An NBC analysis of data from the Department of Health and Human Services reported that Florida is among the top 5 states contributing to a national rise of pediatric COVID-19 cases. Nationwide, on average, pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations are up about 30% in just the past week.
Experts believe the peak of the latest COVID-19 surge in Florida is expected to be in February. A study by the University of Florida says during that peak, there could be as many as 150,000 infections per day in Florida. However, a fraction of these cases will be confirmed through testing, in part due to asyptomatic infections, the study says.
According to Baptist Health, 73% of the patients over 5 years old in the hospital with COVID-19 are not fully vaccinated.
Doctors recommend all eligible people to get vaccinated and boosted give themselves better protection from more severe symptoms from COVID-19. Doctors also recommend people wear masks when indoors to prevent the spread of the virus.