Lee Health Update
Daily Stats (last update 3/27/2020 7:00 pm)
As of today, Lee Health has:
- 14 COVID-19 patients isolated in our hospitals
- Submitted 1,815 specimens for testing
- 118 employees quarantined; 3 employees exposed at work and positive with COVID-19
- Click here for table showing specimens sent to the lab, positive cases currently in our hospitals, presumptive positive cases and telemedicine visits.
Today’s News
Lee Health is Calling on Local Leaders to Take Action on Promoting Social Distancing
COVID-19 is spreading exponentially across our country, and it will continue to do so if we do not enable, encourage and enforce social distancing. We are asking our local to leaders to act, and we are asking everyone in our community to heed the advice to stay home. Please encourage your families, neighbors and friends to limit contact with others, avoid people who are coughing or sneezing and stay home to slow the rate of spread in our community.
Consolidation of Outpatient Facilities
As Lee Health continues to advocate for social distancing, we are limiting routine health services in our outpatient facilities to prevent further escalation and reduce contact to slow down the spread of COVID-19. This will allow us to better manage the capacity and other resource demands that are likely to emerge in our community as the spread of the virus continues. As we consolidate services to fewer locations, patients who have testing or services scheduled will be called to reschedule at a later date or in another location. Lee Health Coconut Point, the Regional Cancer Center, Surfside, the Sanctuary and HealthPark Commons Outpatient Centers will remain open, while all other outpatient centers will close or partially close. All essential visits will be consolidated into the facilities that remain open. We will return to normal operations at the earliest opportunity.
The Lee Health Volunteers are Sending Notes of Thanks, Prayers and Love
Click here to see some of the messages. Our Volunteer Resources teams are taking the notes and creating displays for the employee entrances so our teams can feel love and gratitude as they come into and leave work.
Dr. Antonucci’s Message to the Community
Our Marketing and Brand Management team created this 60-second commercial, which is a message from Dr. Antonucci directly to our community. In it, he assures our community that we are here, making proactive decisions, encouraging social distancing and reiterating that we are #LeeHealthStrong.
Generosity Buoys Our Spirits
Local businesses and organizations are making generous donations to Lee Health. The support of our community means the world to our heroes on the frontline. We want to thank:
- The Vietnamese American Community for SWFL donated over 60,000 latex gloves along with some surgical masks
- We received 5,000 latex gloves from Keep Lee County Beautiful
- Skanska Gates donated 250 N95 masks
- The local radio stations have also contributed; we have received a variety of supplies from 98.5 and B103.9
- Home Depot on Pine Island Road donated 3 boxes of N95 masks
These are just a handful of donations we have received directly to the Lee Health Foundation.
Do You Have a Story to Share?
Lee Health has discharged patients who were positive for COVID-19. Was that you or someone you know? We want to share hopeful, positive stories. If you have one to share, please email us at ExceptionalLee@LeeHealth.org.
Florida Health Department Update (last updated 3/27/2020 8:30 pm)
~3,054 positive cases in Florida Residents and 144 positive cases in non-Florida residents~
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 3,198 total** Florida cases.
Seventeen people have died who tested positive for COVID-19 in Broward, Dade, Hillsborough, Lee, Orange, Palm Beach, St. Johns and St. Lucie counties.
New Florida cases include:
- 714 additional positive COVID-19 cases (695 Florida residents and 19 non-Florida residents) reported to the Florida Department of Health.
- There are currently 3,054 positive cases in Florida residents and 144 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 3/27/2020)
Globally 509,164 confirmed (46,484)
23,335 deaths (2,501)
Western Pacific Region 100,018 confirmed (960)
3,567 deaths (27)
European Region 286,697 confirmed (36,414)
16,105 deaths (2,155)
South-East Asia Region 2,932, confirmed (396)
105 deaths (26)
Eastern Mediterranean Region 35,249 confirmed (2,807)
2,336 deaths (174)
Region of the Americas 81,137 confirmed (5,425)
1,176 deaths (111)
African Region 2,419 confirmed (482)
39 deaths (8)
Highlights
- Two new countries/territories/areas from the Region of the Americas [2] have
reported cases of COVID-19. - The total global number of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 500 000.
Addressing the Extraordinary Summit on COVID-19, the WHO Director-General
called on G20 leaders to fight, unite, and ignite against COVID-19. More
information can be found here. - WHO concluded the technical support mission to Egypt on 25 March 2020.
More information can be found on the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office
site here. - OpenWHO celebrates 1 million enrollments today. Seventy percent of the
total enrollments are on COVID-19 resources, reflecting the critical role the
platform is playing in supporting the response to the pandemic. On 25 March,
a new course was launched describing how to design and operate treatment
centres for the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 resources are hosted on two
learning channels: one for courses in official WHO languages here and a
second for courses in additional national languages here. - The number of countries implementing additional health measures that
significantly interfere with international traffic has increased since the
declaration of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international
concern. The United Nations World Tourism Organization launched a Crisis
Committee to review the impact of the outbreak on the aviation, shipping and
tourism sectors and propose innovative solutions for recovery. Greater detail
can be found in Subject in Focus overleaf.