Florida hospital system CEO says ICUs are stocked, fully prepared, and not overwhelmed

Shaw says ICU capacities in his hospital system are running between 85%-90% capacity, and they are prepared to make more space if needed, according to Spectrum News 13.

Shaw’s comments come as Florida’s coronavirus case total rose by more than 12,000 on Monday, in part due to increased testing, sparking headlines from many media outlets such as CNN and the Daily Beast suggesting that the situation is out of control and decrying Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s mitigation strategies.

Others, including former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson who has been a vocal critic against coronavirus lockdown measures, have urged the public not to panic.

“More panic out of Florida: the CEO of a major hospital system in central Florida (22,000 employees) says they have enough ICU beds, can add more, and have lots of PPE,” Berenson tweeted in response to Shaw’s comments about ICU capabilities. “And, oh yeah, death rates and length of ICU stay are dropping. Did I say panic? I meant PANIC!”

DeSantis also urged calm in a Monday press conference and posted a video on Twitter showing Dr. Charles Lockwood, the senior vice president of University of South Florida Health, explaining that raw ICU numbers don’t tell the whole story and also pointed out that the coronavirus fatality rate has “dropped and dropped and dropped.”

Questions have also been raised about testing after an investigation by Fox 35 News determined that a report from the Florida Department of Health showed that some labs reported a 100% positivity rate in testing.