Miami-Dade mayor and medical experts discuss critical stretch of COVID-19 pandemic

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade County will be rolling out a new public awareness campaign titled “We Can, We Will” to emphasize the need for the public to do its part to get through a tough upcoming stretch in the COVID-19 pandemic.

That was revealed during a virtual news conference Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava held Friday along with several other local government and medical leaders.

Medical experts said the expected virus surge from Thanksgiving travel likely hasn’t hit us yet, but they say it is coming and could intensify after Christmas.

To get through the coming month, they are imploring residents to avoid indoor gatherings, wear masks and wash their hands.

“Coronavirus cases are on the rise, and we must take this extremely seriously,” Cava said. “We are gravely concerned about overwhelming our healthcare system capacity to care for COVID patients. Our hospital network in South Florida is one of the finest in the country, and has done extremely well at dealing with this pandemic, but if we push our system to the limit when COVID cases spread too quickly, we will be at a breaking point.”

Watch a replay of the news conference below:

Jackson Health System and Memorial Healthcare System are the first South Florida hospitals that will be getting vaccines once they are approved. Jackson President and CEO Carlos A. Migoya said during the news conference that they expect enough doses for all hospital front-line workers who come into contact with COVID-19 patients to receive them.

Cava briefly discussed that she is still experiencing some symptoms from her COVID-19 diagnosis. She announced Monday that she was quarantining at home after she and her husband tested positive for the virus.

Cava, 65, was elected to the mayor’s office last month.

Other officials who were part of the news conference included: Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners Acting Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa; Jackson Health System President and CEO Carlos A. Migoya; Miami-Dade Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peter Paige; University of Miami Health System COO Dr. Dipen Parekh; Nicklaus Children’s Health System President and CEO Matthew A. Love; Mount Sinai Medical Center President and CEO Steven Sonenreich; HCA Division President Charles Gressle; Florida Medical Center and Miami-Dade Group Tenet CEO Jeff M. Welch; Memorial Healthcare System CEO Aurelio Fernandez; Broward Health Chief of Emergency Medicine Dr. Evan Boyar; Monroe County Mayor Michelle Coldiron; Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi.

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