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WHO: This Pandemic Is 'Far from Over,' Hospitalizations Surge from AZ to FL

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From California to Florida, bars, beaches, movie theatres, and gyms are all beginning to closed down once again as COVID-19 cases spike across the country.

Infections are on the rise in 32 states and this morning alone, 36,000 new cases were reported nationwide. The number is high, but down from the record of 45,000 on Friday.

In Austin, TX, field hospitals are now being prepared after surpassing 70 percent hospital capacity.

A more grim situation in Arizona, where only 13 percent of ICU beds in the entire state are currently available. 

"Patients are suffering, they're on ventilators for weeks. Families cannot be here. There are patients begging me not to put them on a breathing machine because they know that they might die, they might never talk to their families again," said Dr. Jennifer O'Hea from the University Medical Center in Phoenix.

Tucson doctor, Brad Dreifuss, says health care workers are close to breaking.

"It's not like you can walk away from people you've been caring for in your community, or someone you've been caring for in the ICU for three weeks.  You're there, you're in it, you're with them, and that's why it's so emotionally exhausting," Dr. Dreifuss said.

Despite low numbers in New York and New Jersey, both governors are considering a pause to their states' re-opening after seeing what's happening in other areas. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) says this pandemic is not even close to being over but is in fact speeding up and the worst is yet to come.

The answer: test, trace, isolate, and quarantine. 

Meanwhile, hospitalizations have climbed for 15 consecutive days in Florida. Starting Tuesday morning, masks are required in Miami and in Jacksonville, where the Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in August.
 

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About The Author

Caitlin Burke Headshot
Caitlin
Burke

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News. She has also hosted the CBN News original podcast, The Daily Rundown. Some of Caitlin’s recent stories have focused on the national security threat posed by China, America’s military strength, and vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. She joined CBN News in July 2010, and over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to cover stories both domestically and abroad. Caitlin began her news career working as a production assistant in Richmond, Virginia, for the NBC affiliate WWBT