Lee Health Update
Daily Stats (last update 3/26/2020 1:00 pm)
As of today, Lee Health has:
Daily Stats
As of today, Lee Health has:
- 11 COVID-19 patients isolated in our hospitals
- Submitted 1,757 specimens for testing
- 18 employees quarantined
- Click here for table showing specimens sent to the lab, positive cases currently in our hospitals, presumptive positive cases and telemedicine visits.
Total Cases in Lee County (totals as of 3/25/2020 update)
- Lee County Confirmed Cases: 52 (3 deaths)
- Estero Confirmed Cases: 2 (0 deaths)
Today’s News
#LeeHealthStrong; Hometown Heroes
Our team members on the frontlines of this novel coronavirus are fighting every day and night against an invisible enemy. They are risking exposure themselves so they can care for and serve others. Lee Health, and our community, are the grateful beneficiaries of the dedication and commitment of these hometown heroes. Two of our employees who were exposed at work have tested positive for COVID-19. Please join us in sending positive, healing thoughts and hopes for a speedy recovery to our team members.
Lee Health Leaders Presented to County Commissioners on Importance of Social Distancing
Larry Antonucci, M.D., MBA, president & CEO; Scott Nygaard, M.D., MBA, chief operating officer; Alex Daneshmand, D.O., MBA, chief quality and patient safety officer; and Lisa Sgarlata, DNP, chief patient care officer and chief nurse executive were invited to an emergency meeting of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners yesterday. Our team presented a predictive model that illustrates the impact of social distancing on the spread of COVID-19 in our community. If we can get to 60% social distancing, we believe we have the capacity to fully care for our community. We estimate that the community’s social distancing is currently between 30-40%. We appreciate the work the county is doing to help our community get to 60% or higher. We will share an updated model with them again tomorrow, and the Board of County Commissioners will meet again on Monday to assess if further actions are needed.
Testing Turnaround Times
Lee Health leaders continue to receive questions regarding the turnaround time for testing. Right now, we are submitting specimens to the Florida Department of Health, Quest, LabCorp and now Mayo Clinic. Turnaround times vary by lab, and the commercial labs (Quest and LabCorp) are receiving significant volumes of specimens and are challenged to process and return results quickly. Because of the volume of tests we are submitting to various labs, it can take up to 10 days to get our results back.
New Commercial Showcases Lee Health’s Commitment to Our Community
The Lee Health Marketing and Brand Management team produced this 30-second commercial to let the community know we are here for them. The commercial shows our Lee Health family doing what they do best—caring for people and inspiring health. The commercial will appear throughout the region and replace existing campaigns with distribution help from our media partners.
Florida Health Department Update (last updated 3/26/2020)
Stats Update
- Florida Confirmed Cases: 1,977 (23 deaths)
- Lee County Confirmed Cases: 52 (3 deaths)
- Estero Confirmed Cases: 2 (0 deaths)
TALLAHASSEE —To keep Florida residents and visitors safe, informed and aware about the status of the virus, The Florida Department of Health has launched a COVID-19 dashboard that will be updated twice daily. Today, as of 6 p.m., there are 2,484 total** Florida cases.
One person has died who tested positive for COVID-19 in Highlands County.
New Florida cases include
- 129 additional positive COVID-19 cases (124 Florida residents and 5 non-Florida residents) reported to the Florida Department of Health.
- There are currently 2,352 positive cases in Florida residents and 125 positive cases in non-Florida residents.
Florida recently partnered with private laboratories around the state to expand COVID-19 laboratory testing capacity. This partnership will increase the number of tests conducted each day and ensure Floridians receive the critical health information they need in a timely manner.
Expansion to private laboratories changes the COVID-19 testing landscape in Florida. Private laboratories are running tests as they receive swab samples from practitioners. Testing and reporting times vary among commercial and DOH laboratories. Demographic information may be updated during investigations. These twice daily reports reflect the state’s efforts to accurately and transparently share information.
World Health Organization Update
SITUATION IN NUMBERS total (new) cases in last 24 hours (last updated 10:00 AM CET 3/26/2020)
Globally 462,684 confirmed (49,219)
20,834 deaths (2,401)
Western Pacific Region 99,058 confirmed (1,292)
3540 deaths (22)
European Region 250,287 confirmed (29,771)
13,950 deaths (1,964)
South-East Asia Region 2,536 confirmed (192)
79 deaths (7)
Eastern Mediterranean Region 32,442 confirmed (2,811)
2,162 deaths (154)
Region of the Americas 75,712 confirmed (14,878)
1,065 deaths (252)
African Region 1937 confirmed (275)
31 deaths (2)
Highlights
- Three new countries/territories/areas from the Region of the Americas [1],
and African Region [2] have reported cases of COVID-19. - The United Nations launched a US$2 billion COVID-19 Global Humanitarian
Response Plan to support the world’s most vulnerable countries. More
information can be found here. - The WHO Director-General mentioned many key issues and action steps to
effectively combat COVID-19, as well as maintaining physical distance but not
social distance. More information can be found here. - WHO published the COVID-19: Operational guidance for maintaining essential
health services during an outbreak and the Handbook for public health
capacity-building at ground crossings and cross-border collaboration on 25
March 2020. All guidance documents can be found here. - In line with current evidence, WHO maintains the recommendations of
droplet and contact precautions for healthcare workers caring for COVID-19
patients. For those performing aerosol generating procedures, WHO
recommends airborne and contact precautions. The use of medical masks, eye
protection, gloves and gown are required for direct patient care; respirator
masks are specifically required for aerosol generating procedures.
The Village of Estero has compiled above the most recent daily updates from the World Health Organization, Florida Department of Health, and Lee Health. This compilation provides updates from the healthcare industry’s perspective. The information provided below was developed by our partner agencies for public consumption.