Each Florida county will determine its shelter rules. SWFL counties so far have not said masks will be required. Experts predict 2021 will be active with potentially 10 named storms.
Fort Myers News-Press
As Lee County commissioners plead with the feds to protect the Caloosahatchee and its estuary from excessive Lake Okeechobee releases, health officials are cautioning people to stay away from the water at three popular freshwater boat launches. At the same time, at least five coastal beaches are under red tide alerts.
The one-two environmental punch is starting to look alarmingly like what scientist Paul Cox calls “the toxic vise,” conditions that reached crisis stage in 2018, when then-Gov. Rick Scott declared dual states of emergency.
Lee County health department spokeswoman Tammy Yzaguirre said red tide-tainted sites currently noted include:
As Lee County commissioners plead with the feds to protect the Caloosahatchee and its estuary from excessive Lake Okeechobee releases, health officials are cautioning people to stay away from the water at three popular freshwater boat launches. At the same time, at least five coastal beaches are under red tide alerts.
The one-two environmental punch is starting to look alarmingly like what researcher Paul Cox calls “the toxic vise,” conditions that reached crisis stage in 2018, when then-Gov. Rick Scott declared dual states of emergency.
Lee County health department spokeswoman Tammy Yzaguirre said red tide-tainted sites currently noted include:
Sanibel’s Tarpon Bay Road Beach and Lighthouse Beach Park
Red tide, blue-green algae bloom warnings issued for Southwest Florida naplesnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from naplesnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Meanwhile, the number of hospitalized patients in Lee and Collier remains stubbornly high. The Lee County-based Lee Health hospital system, the region s largest health care provider, reported on Thursday that 124 of its patients had tested positive for COVID-19. About a month ago, the number was 55.
Hospital administrators have blamed the uptick in cases on vaccine hesitancy, reduced adherence to social distancing and masking guidelines, and an increase in more contagious COVID-19 variants.
The public Lee Health reports the number of all patients with COVID-19, even if it s not the primary reason they are hospitalized. The state, by contrast, reports the number of patients hospitalized because of COVID-19.