The number of patients hospitalized at AdventHealth Palm Coast on a diagnosis of covid reached 80 today, according to the Flagler County Health Department chief, a number that not long ago was closer to the total hospitalizations in the network’s 16 hospitals across Central Florida, combined. The peak hospitalizations at AdventHealth Palm Coast during January’s covid surge was 35. Hospitalizations in this fourth phase have been rising rapidly, and do not appear to be slowing.
AdventHealth Palm Coast is licensed for a total of 130 beds, though it has capacity to expand in emergencies. “That’s why they went into ‘black status,’ which basically means all hands on deck,” Bob Snyder, the director of Flagler’s health department and previously an administrator at AdventHealth Palm Coast (when it was known as Florida Hospital Flagler) said. “As a former hospital administrator, I can tell you in general that we are always able somehow, somehow, to find additional beds and places for patients to go.” But the current crisis is unprecedented.
Last night Neil Finkler, the chief clinical officer for AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, issued a new directive, limiting all visitations with Covid patients to virtual interactions only, except for children, who may still get two in-person caretakers’ visits per day. Most non-covid patients may get one visitor at a time, but without limits to the number of visitors.
The flood of patients is the result of an unrelenting spread of the delta variant in Flagler, with confirmed infections in the last seven days totaling 900. The numbers broke down this way over the pasty seven days: Tuesday July 27, 93 infections, Wednesday, 139, Thursday, 157, Friday, 149, Saturday, 180, Sunday, 87 and today, 95.
Put another way, as many Flagler County residents got infected in the past seven days as did the total number of Flagler residents did in the first seven months of the pandemic last year, from January to Aug. 1, 2020.
The numbers have vaulted Flagler County to the tip tier of counties hardest hit in Florida, itself the state hardest hit in the nation after Louisiana, with 17,000 infections reported on two successive days at the end of last week, nearing the highest daily totals of the entire pandemic. Last week Florida accounted for a fifth of the 370 Covid deaths reported on Thursday alone across the nation. Gov. Ron DeSantis called it a “seasonal” wave that would soon subside.
But a lack of sufficient vaccination combined with the more potently infectious delta variant is powering a wave like no other. Snyder outlined the causes behind the wave: “Number one, it is the delta variant. As we know, and as we’ve learned, it can affect vaccinated and unvaccinated people in terms of transmission of the virus. Compared to prior variants and mutations, the viral load is 1,000 times more for the delta variants. Number two, we have seen a very slight uptick in the last two weeks in vaccination rates, but it is still low, comparatively speaking, meaning we’re just not seeing the numbers. It’s almost like the vaccination rate plateaued. And although we are again seeing the slight uptick, I’m going to say vaccination rates here locally are disconcerting. So we got that going. Number three, mask wearing is not universal. With the Delta variant out there, the CDC has recommended that when we’re indoors, that we don masks, and that is not happening universally in our community. It’s unfortunate because masks, based on the science and evidence, are 80 percent effective in stopping transmission of the virus. Number four, we are seeing outbreaks. We’ve seen outbreaks in a few adult homes for the elderly. We’ve seen them at day camps, and other places.”
Local governments continue to be mostly silent on the crisis, in contrast with last year’s waves, when the communications offices of Palm Coast and county governments were churning out information release after information release, and Palm Coast’s mayor at the time, Milissa Holland, was hosting weekly Covid town halls broadcast on YouTube. Individual elected officials have spoken of the importance of getting vaccinated and of wearing masks, starting with Bunnell City Commissioner John Rogers and Flagler Beach Mayor Suzie Johnston. Only today, at the end of a County Commission meeting in which Covid was barely mentioned, County Commissioners Dave Sullivan and Andy Dance delivered extended, explicit pleas to encourage vaccination and mask-wearing, and to resume the issuance of public service announcement and the bi-weekly briefings by Emergency Management Chief Jonathan Lord.
“It’s having a detrimental effect across the community,” Dance said of the ongoing surge at the hospital. ” I think if we can continue to get a message out there on the importance of vaccinations. Because of the mutations, the dangers of close contacts and masking within groups, maybe some more PSA’s that are on the radio, like we did before.”
Dance said it was important for the commission to send out the message. “Getting the vaccinations is step one, and then taking other precautions is very important in order to get this wave back down. We’ve seen the waves happen. As we take notice of waves happening, we start to get proactive in our messaging again, people become more aware and the waves come back down, and that’s the part that we’re in now is getting the messaging out about how dangerous this variant is, and the impact it could have on the community. Again, I think I support some additional PSAs and some announcements that we can get out there to the public.”
Commissioner Dave Sullivan was equally explicit. “There’s no easy solutions to this and we don’t want to go backward,” Sullivan said. “But one of the easiest solutions is that people get vaccinated provided their doctor says it’s okay to be vaccinated if they have concerns. But vaccination is the number one way to keep things under control, and I don’t really think that’s political. I think that’s just factual. There are people who have had the disease and have antibodies and that helps too, but I think we ought to continue to push towards a 70 percent rate of full vaccination, and that may help us in the long run.” Fewer than half the county’s population is currently vaccinated, and children under 12 have not yet been cleared to be vaccinated, though they can still be carriers of the disease, the delta variant especially. Sullivan, too, urged mask-wearing and renewed updates from Lord and Snyder.
Commissioner Joe Mullins also addressed the surge, but spoke mostly about himself and about how the surge should not lead to forcing businesses to close or force people to be vaccinated or wear masks, though no one in Flagler or Florida is considering such forcible measures–nor have forced vaccinations been considered nationally by governments. Some private businesses, among them Disney in Florida, are now requiring employees to be vaccinated.
Previously, the county and Palm Coast echoed Health Department messaging and releases, listing where and when residents could get tested and vaccinated. That has not been happening. The county’s and cities’ marketing departments (Palm Coast’s and Flagler County’s marketing budgets exceed a combined $1 million) remain silent on the latest surge.
The Health Department this week reconfigured its testing and vaccination strategy. Starting on Aug. 9, the department will offer testing at the county airport annex location, Monday through Friday, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., to accommodate Flagler County school staff, teachers and students, with rapid testing. At the same time, testing and vaccination will be taking place for everyone else at the Health Department, Monday through Friday, same times, at 301 Dr. Carter Boulevard in Bunnell.
The Health Department is again ramping up its staff to accommodate the necessary contact tracing and testing and vaccination regimens. The department used to have a staff of 56, pre-covid. Today, it’s 120 (part-time and full-time).
Snyder addressed one other point, regarding skepticism about the Centers for Disease Control’s changing guidance regarding masks. Only a few weeks ago, it had issued guidance that allowed vaccinated people to remove masks indoors. The CDC now is urging universal masking indoors again.
“The CDC is not flip flopping,” Snyder said. “This is a novel virus, meaning it’s a new virus. We have talked about the various mutations and variants that have taken place. What they are doing as new data and as new reporting that is reliable, and based on science, that as changes occur to the mutations and to the variants, as the variants become more transmissible, all the CDC is doing is responding to that reality. The reality being that the delta variant is more transmissible, and it’s more dangerous in our communities. And that is why they change their stance on masking–masking indoors. Because of the changed situation regarding the mutation and this delta variant. So it is all for good reason. This is expected. And we are not surprised, but they are not flipflopping, they are basically reacting to the reality that is before us today.”
Had the vaccination rates been significantly higher, Snyder said, the current wave would have “absolutely been avoided, Snyder said. “Case in point would be this the states up north in places that have come close to reaching herd immunity, they are not experiencing what we are here in the southeast.” Snyder said he agrees that it is “a personal choice as to whether or not you’re going to get vaccinated or to don a mask. But however, because the viral load that the delta variant carries is 1,000 times more than any previous variant, I’d like to make the case for whether you’re vaccinated or not, and whether you’re masked or not, you are part of the transmission chain, and you do have a responsibility to society to not put others in danger. And that would be people who are unvaccinated, in particular individuals who could be your family member, your neighbor, your parent or your grandparent or an innocent stranger who, by chance, is not vaccinated either and who was elderly and has chronic conditions. So yes, you have a responsibility to society to do the right thing.”
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Keep Flagler Beautiful says
Joe Mullins never fails, does he. So predictable. Just keep collecting that fat paycheck subsidized by the taxpayers you do NOT represent, and enjoy it while you can, because next election, you are O-U-T!
mausborn says
Trump told his followers to mass gather, not wear masks, and inject bleach. He also got vaccinated in secret while his followers have refused vaccines. Now his unvaxed followers are dying of Covid-19, because they do not have access to a team of taxpayer funded doctors to save them like he got when he was infected.
The difference between Trump and Jim Jones is Jones paid for the Kool-Aid and then drank it himself. Trump would take a pass on drinking, stiff the shop he got the Kool-Aid from, claim the event never happened, blame Democrats for what he just claimed never happened, hire lawyers to go on television and support his denials, ask his followers for donations to help pay the lawyers, stiff the lawyers and then go golfing.
swill says
show me on this doll where trump hurt you…..
honestly prove where he said to inject bleach–just another democratic mouthpiece.
Ray W. says
Swill is right and wrong at the same time. He is right that Trump only mentioned “disinfectant”, not “bleach.” He is wrong in asserting that Trump never mentioned injecting the disinfectant. Trump suggested that a team of scientists should study injecting disinfectant into the human body as a possible means to treat a Covid infection. April 24, 2020. Swill really loses when he blames this as promulgated by a “democratic mouthpiece.” Trump really did open this door and Swill has no one to blame except Trump himself. Many Republicans were astonished at Trump’s words. Still and all, being barely right is good enough for many. Perhaps, it is good enough for Swill.
Anon says
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1191216&ved=2ahUKEwjuq8WZ4ZXyAhWSVTABHVlWCUgQFnoECAkQAg&usg=AOvVaw0U4KRz1I7DheXZQ_XrR–9&cf=1&cshid=1628024990141
He said to inject disinfectant and to put uv light inside the body, which would kill you.
Deborah Coffey says
Oh, boy. It’s on VIDEO! Plain as day! What news channel are you watching????
TW says
Totally agree with your comments. He bears much of the blame for the COVID pandemic disaster as well as the damage he is doing (as well as others) in perpetuating the big LIE. Jim Jones would be proud!
Froggy,
Disgusted Republican
Trailer Bob says
That is good news, to hear that finally some elected public officials are educating the public and insisting that this will not go away in a kind way until people get vaccinated, wear masks when it makes common sense, and avoid large gatherings, especially when most are anti mask and vaccine.
Not a shock that Mullins spoke up, though not for the benefit of his constituents, but just to hear himself talk.
Thank you Andy and Mr. Sullivan for speaking up, as we are in no small need of having elected officials speak some truth about reality…reality that the lunatics continue to brush off. Thanks.
mark101 says
It would be interesting to know what the % are for young people up to the age of 16 that are in the hospital with covid.
Karen Curry says
You might be able to get that info on covid.cdc.gov. It breaks down many trends by state & county from April 2020 to the present.
Ted Underhill says
If our local stakeholders realize there is an outbreak and see the need to take action. How is it that the science that supports the local response isn’t available to our esteemed governor and his staff to make competent decisions? Remember when our beloved state was a vacation destination rather than the national covid infestation? Come on people, let’s all do the right thing and put this behind us. Mr. Snyder, thank you for stressing the importance of being responsible to our community and our families.
Mike Cocchiola says
So Mullins is against any enforcing measures to contain this deadly Delta Variant. He’s even against things no one has even thought of like “forced vaccinations”. Talk about throwing around fear and encouraging resistance to a vaccine that will save lives.
Go Joe! Back to whatever hell you crawled out of.
Appalled and Disgusted says
There is no fix for stupid. If you choose to walk in front of a bus and die..that’s your choice. If you choose to stick a gun in your mouth that’s your choice. But if you drag other people with you in your selfish desire for self-destruction that’s inexcusable. Every infected person infects others.
If you choose to commit suicide by Covid that’s your business and between you and God. But, if you take other people with you, by spreading the Delta variant that is 1000 times more dangerous, that’s no longer just your personal suicide. There is a higher power to answer to that you cannot escape.
Whathehck? says
If you walk in front of a bus you are endangering the occupants of the bus and will leave the driver with long-term nightmares. So yes you are right individual’s actions do affect others.
Another One Lost says
I’m confused. The delta variant has 1,000 times more viral load than the original. The infection rate has skyrocketed. 665 new cases in one week. Why then isn’t anyone in Flagler county dying from this? Could someone please explain it to me. It makes no sense. Maybe Nietzsche was right when he said “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.
FlaglerLive says
Death reports lag behind infection reports. Four people were confirmed to have died last week in Flagler. We have reports of numerous, but yet unconfirmed (by the health department) deaths.
Stretchem says
C’mon. You’ve had a year and a half now to understand how it works. About 1% who contract the virus and are unvaccinated ultimately die. It’s not instant death. Takes a few weeks, even months in some. But have no doubt it does happen. So of the 665 that caught the virus last week, 6 or 7 of them will die in the coming weeks. About half will feel like hammered dog shit, and 40 or so will end up in the hospital.
If you want to raise your hand to sign up for the virus, go for it. Darwinism on full display.
Bill C says
Will DeSantis ever admit he was wrong ? That would save lives.
Trailer Bob says
It is fine if you think COVID is not a big deal or a conspiracy…just stay away from the sane people. IN OTHER WORDS, don’t go out in public.
Concerned Citizen says
Please wear masks and get those shots if possible.
My wife is working 18 hour days and coming home long enough to pass out on the sofa. Then I wake her up when I get home. She cleans up and goes back at it again. I listen to her vent and cry long enough to recompose and go back at it. She’s def a trooper.
We are both Veterans and she says this is one of the hardest things she’s dealt with in her 30 plus medical career. It was tough enough last year and sucks to see a repeat.
Enough finger pointing blame and hate.
At this point I don’t care who has done what. We need to do the right thing and flatten this. People are loosing lives. And giving lives to fight.
The longer we take to do right the longer it takes to recover.
NPA Voter says
@Concerned Citizen: First, a huge thank you isn’t nearly enough for your wife. She deserves a medal of honor along with all the other front line healthcare workers.
Secondly, thank you for a very sensible appeal to those who are only being selfish and not lifting a finger to help combat this horrible pandemic. I wish a couple of my own family members could sit down with you and give you the opportunity to pound some sense into them. I have failed, so far, and it is maddening. The under 40 crowd seems to think they are invincible.
Concerned Citizen says
I will pass along your thanks.
We have both served or country. And have had long careers in Public Safety and Health Care. I thought I had seen it all until this came around. Now all I can do is shake my head. And keep my opinions to myself. So many are quick to anger and want to fight. I have had friends stop talking to me after I started wearing a mask and got my shot. And I ask why.
Both my wife and I are in our mid 50’s with elderly parents to protect. I have to protect my wife so she can go to work and do her part. if a shot and a mask help add a layer of defense then so what. We both got shots enough to save a life time our first weeks in basic training.
I don’t knock what others do. Outside of our jobs and close circle of family/friends we try to avoid the craziness going on. But enough with the hate. It isn’t helping with anything at all.
I remember times in our country that we used to unify and tackle big threats together. Now I watch this country tear itself apart. And it makes me incredibly sad.
David Schaefer says
Thank your wife for me. I worked in the OR as a profession so I can realize what she is going through. When will people wake up and do the right thing that’s my question.
John Staub says
Nothing on maybe eat better, get healthy, take your vitamins and exercise, huh?
Don’t be cowards say the truth. Fuck COVID and the left too! Cases vs sickness vs actual population.
Look up the truth. Notice I don’t hide behind a fake ass name. Now go put on your mask and get the jab lol.
capt says
Well John, eating healthy and exercise will not save you. My neighbor is a health freak, does just what you tout. He never got the vaccine because like you he said, I’am healthy, I eat right, exercise well, play golf daily, ride bikes. He’s 45, younger than you no doubt, guess what he got covid and is in the Advent Hospital right now. Well , here’s hope you don’t catch covid and end up fighting for your life like he is. . Keep on spinning that cylinder of life and maybe the chamber will not fall on that lonely single bullet called covid. Good luck to ya.
Dave says
Way to Go DeathSantis keep ignoring the truth and the facts. All you care about is running around the country campaigning to be the next president.
Fredrick says
Hopefully Cuomo will resign and move to Florida and become Governor. He did such a great job slaughtering thousands and thousands of the most vulnerable in New York. He even managed to put thousands of small businesses out of business. He managed to destroy the economy in New York and then get stupid states like Florida to subsidies them with Federal dollars. Even even managed to get Leadership Award an Emmy for his handling of the pandemic. Now that’s the kind of leadership Florida needs. He even did all that while sexually harassing women. He should be the gold standard that all Governors are held too….. Said no one ever…..
Our Governor, protected the most vulnerable first, got our economy running again and back on track, refused to let the fear mongers take over, allowed Floridians to live their life. Why in the hell do you think everyone is escaping states like New York and coming here. Get a clue…. stop living in fear.
Dave says
Well written mausbornsays………the cult Flagler Republicans as well as the others around the state and the country will find President Biden to blame when businesses start having to shut down, stock market takes a nose dive and hospitals have no more room. DeathSantis will say it isn’t his fault of course. Trump will continue to beg people for money to pay for his endless legal fee’s, as more and more of his supporters are dying off. Welcome to the world of Republican ignorance, corruption, lies and propaganda.
Whathehck? says
Thank you for the sane comments.
I reiterate what you said: DO THE RIGHT THING. Get vaccinated, wear a mask and wash your hands.
We are Americans, we know how to do the right thing and we care about each other.
Deborah Coffey says
I just want to know what supermarkets will step up and require proof of vaccination to enter their stores. Those of us who are vaccinated, and immunocompromised, shouldn’t have to fear for our lives when trying to buy groceries.
MikeM says
If you are afraid, then order online and have it delivered. The world should not stop because you are immuno comprimised.
Jp says
The world should not stop because a mask is slightly bothersome.
Ray W. says
I am vaccinated, as is my 90-year-old aunt, who is in surprisingly good health, in part because she almost always walks several miles a day, closely watches her food choices, allows herself one glass of wine a day, and actually follows advice from her various doctors.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly every Sunday morning I call her from a nearby Publix parking lot. She gives me her grocery list and I shop for her. Too much risk to expect her to go into such a heavily trafficked location for necessities. The plus is that we get to chat about our week. Last Sunday I brought her an Heirloom tomato. She really liked it and has decided to stop asking for Beefsteak tomatoes. It has been a struggle, but I have persuaded her to begin to either toss out or give away no more than three items every week; we have cleared a lot of space in her garage and kitchen cabinets over the last 6 months or so. Quite a few miscellaneous odds and ends can accumulate over 90 years of living.
Flagler Resident says
Left, right and center. Come on folks, use your brains. A virus doesn’t carry a particular point of view, in fact, a particular point of view can be a boom to this spiky protein with DNA. I don’t care about the funny, and sometimes nasty looks I get when wearing a mask. I have confidence in myself, common sense and science, and will continue to double mask. Wish you would too.