CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Just a few months ago on April 18, Christus Spohn Shoreline celebrated zero COVID patients. Flash forward to now, they had to reopen their COVID floor.
"We went from 55, the count was 55 between the four hospitals to 75. That's 20 people that were admitted overnight for COVID," said Dr. Kim Onufrak with the Public Health Department.
20 people, with mainly all the same symptoms. Onufrak said people aren't taking precautions anymore.
"Fevers, headaches, sore throats, body aches, cough, congestion. I think people are just tired and they're letting their guard down and they're not masking and keeping up to date with their vaccines," Onufrak said.
On Tuesday, Christus Spohn Shoreline opened the COVID floor because of the high transmission rate.
they told 3News in a statement:
We have to stand ready to treat anyone who might need us effectively and safely.
Onufrak said unlike before, there are fewer nurses in our hospitals.
"There are no FEMA nurses here at this point in time," she added, "they left a few months ago, probably in August or September because we started to see that downward trend."
With the Fourth of July weekend around the corner Onufrak recommends masking up again if you plan on being around people; and of course, if you haven't been vaccinated yet, to roll up those sleeves.
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