Sixty-eight hospitals in Florida have less than two days of oxygen supplies on hand, as more than 17,000 patients in the state are hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a survey cited by WUSF Public Media, Tampa Bay's NPR station.
The survey, conducted by the Florida Hospital Association, showed that about half of the 68 hospitals have less than 36 hours of oxygen on hand. Hospitals in the state are using three to four times as much oxygen as they were before the pandemic, according to WUSF.
"This is not like running out of masks, right? This is lifesaving," Florida Hospital Association CEO Mary Mayhew told WUSF. "And right now, we're focused on how to make sure that does not happen. And so hospitals have been raising these concerns with the state, with the Division of Emergency Management, with the governor's office, and have raised these concerns federally."
Since the start of June, 29 hospitals have had their oxygen supply fall below 12 hours, WUSF reported.
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