OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Florida is one of the coronavirus hot spots targeted by a new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study.
The CDC’s latest Seroprevalence survey looked at the number of people who have antibodies in several hot spots around the United States, one of which is South Florida. They determined the actual number of people with the virus is at least 10 times higher than the number of confirmed cases.
What You Need To Know
- South Florida was one of 10 hot spots in the U.S. surveyed
- The study could help determine high-risk areas
-Advertisement-
- The survey does not prove higher immunity in hot spots
- People still should wear face masks, practice social distancing
Dr. Sajid Chaudhary, an infectious disease specialist in Kissimmee, said the study shows the virus is spreading fast in a short span of time.
“Central Florida is a second hot spot, you can say, after South Florida so our numbers are not at that stage, but still our numbers are significantly high,” he said.
Dr. Chaudhary said the number of COVID-19 patients he sees keeps rising and is up to 90 a day in Osceola County.
“This is a new disease,” he said. “We all are learning about this disease as we are managing dealing with this disease.”
Learning how prevalent the infection is can show health experts the high-risk areas and indicate where to start using a vaccine.
In the short term, people must take precautions like wearing face masks, staying 6 feet apart, and using hand sanitizer, Chaudhary said.
“The hospitals are choked already, so I don’t know how long we can continue to work like this, in this condition nonstop,” he said.
The results should not be interpreted to mean people who have antibodies are immune or protected from getting infected again, researchers said.
The other hot spots studied around the United States, included Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Utah, and Western Washington State. Researchers pointed out that the people tested for the study may not be a completely accurate representation of the community.
