AdventHealth's urgent care centers are have nearly doubled the rate of positive COVID-19 tests in the last two weeks - setting a new record.
Centra Care’s seven-day rolling positivity rate is a whopping 39 percent. That’s higher than the peak positivity rate of 28 percent last summer during the Delta wave.
Statewide, people have been waiting hours to get tested for COVID-19, and stores are having trouble keeping at-home test kits stocked.
AdventHealth is asking people to get vaccinated and get boosted.
"Physicians continue to recommend people wear masks in crowded indoor spaces or when in close contact with others," the hospital said in a statement. "This includes students as they resume classes after the holiday break."
While the rate of positive cases has skyrocketed, the number of hospitalized patients hasn’t increased at the same rate - what epidemiologist call a decoupling.
That’s possibly due to the availability of vaccines and boosters, as well as some level of protection provided by previous Delta infections. It could also be because Omicron is less virulent than the Delta variant.
Overall, AdventHealth’s hospital system has 480 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 across the greater Central Florida area. That’s about one third of last summer’s peak of 1,700 patients.
