Don’t ease up on COVID-19 precautions

As the chief medical officers of South Florida’s hospitals, we remind you that COVID-19 remains an extremely serious public health concern for everyone in South Florida.

Throughout this pandemic, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other heroes in our hospitals have put their own health and safety at risk to care for you.

In July, our hospitals came close to exceeding capacity to care for you. Thankfully, you responded to the advice of medical experts and scientists to alter behaviors — and the results have been positive. Our community has seen a relatively low mortality rate of those infected with the virus. This is in stark contrast to the experience in other parts of the country, where early on in the pandemic, the ability of hospitals to safely care for the severely ill was exceeded.

Experience shows that mitigation measures work. Please continue to demonstrate your humanity and care for each other. To protect ourselves and everyone around us, it is more important now than ever that we all practice COVID-19 prevention safety precautions

▪ Always wear a mask when you are in public.

▪ Practice physical distancing, staying at least 6 feet apart from other people.

▪ Wash your hands frequently, and use hand sanitizer.

▪ Stay home if you are sick, and get tested.

Thank you for following these essential safety measures. Together, we can reduce the spread of this disease and move closer to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stay safe and be healthy.

This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Don’t ease up on COVID-19 precautions."