JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — New cases of COVID-19 are spiking nationwide, as the fast-spreading omicron variant, first discovered in South Africa, begins to invade more local communties.
"I would not be surprised at all that omicron is not in Jacksonville. I would actually be quite sure that it already is," Internal Medicine Dr. Saman Soleymani told First Coast News Monday.
First Coast News reported COVID-19 cases in Florida more than doubled between Nov. 27 - Dec. 3 and Dec. 4 - Dec. 10.
Data from the Florida Department of Health shows there were 29,568 new COVID-19 cases the week ending Dec.10, compared to 13,481 the preious week. There were also three more deaths reported during the week ending on Dec. 10 (39) than there were the previous week (36).
However, in Jacksonville, hospital report still a relatively low number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
According to Baptist Health, they had only 19 patients with COVID-19 through all five hospitals.
"At this point, our numbers remain stable and we haven’t seen any recent trends," Baptist Health said in a statement.
Meanwhile, UF Health reported one nine patients with COVID-19 in the city.
Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Frederick Southwick fears the omicron variant could spread quickly in the state because he believes people have let their guard down.
"Florida is really a sitting duck because we have stopped all infectious control practices," Dr. Southwick said.
In response to the nationwide spike of COVID-19 cases, President Joe Biden announced a plan to provide 500 million free rapid tests for Americans, increased support for hospitals under strain and a redoubling of vaccination and boosting efforts.
Experts say the best way to protect yourself from serious effects from COVID-19 is by getting vaccinated and getting a booster shot.
There are still 40 million eligible but unvaccinated adults in the U.S., according to the AP.