Miami-Dade mayor: ‘It won’t be long’ before hospitals reach capacity

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez (R) said Sunday that hospitals will soon be at capacity in his county as coronavirus cases surge in southern Florida and across the state. 

Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash how long it will be before the hospitals in Miami-Dade are at capacity, Giménez said that “it won’t be long.” 

“We definitely had a sharp increase in the number of people going to the hospital, the number of people in ICU, the number of people on ventilators,” Giménez said on “State of the Union.” “We still have capacity, but it does cause me a lot of concern.” 

The mayor said there are also some reserve spaces in the county that can be used. He said once elective surgeries stop, the county also can convert recovery rooms to ICU rooms “fairly quickly.” 

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez says “It won’t be long” before the hospitals in his county are at capacity.

“We definitely had a sharp increase in the number of people going to the hospital” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/eVPQBi8Dfe

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) July 12, 2020

Six hospitals in Miami-Dade County have already reached capacity, CNN noted. 

The number of coronavirus cases is spiking across Florida, with a total of 250,984 cases statewide, according to state data. Miami-Dade County has been hit the hardest in Florida, with 60,868 confirmed cases and 1,132 deaths, the Miami Herald reported Saturday. 

President Trump visited Miami-Dade on a trip Friday and did not wear a face mask. The president did wear a mask on Saturday during a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, D.C.

Bash on Sunday asked Giménez, who has issued a mandatory mask order in the county, if he thinks Trump is undermining recommendations to wear a face mask.

The mayor dismissed concerns over Trump not wearing a mask. He said he was on the tarmac to meet Trump and that he was tested for the coronavirus ahead of the time along with everyone else.