Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have projected Florida’s peak time for hospital resources in the coronavirus pandemic will be two weeks later than previous projections. The new projections were released Monday.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is now projecting Florida hospitals will hit peak resource use on May 3rd.
Researchers say the state will have enough hospital beds and ICU beds. Florida will need just over 4,000 hospital beds- well short of the 20,000 hospital beds available.
Florida will also need 1,081 Intensive Care beds, and is projected to have 600 more ICU beds than it needs.
IHME is projecting the death rate peaking at 128 deaths per day on May 6th, with COVID-19 fatalities totaling 4,748 by late June, a higher number than earlier projections.
Florida could have one of the highest cumulative death tolls, behind New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The institute says it will adjust its forecasts every three days based on new data about epidemic patterns, health care demand or resource gaps, government response, and the effects of social distancing measures.