Residents of Hillsborough County, Florida, have been warned by the government to cut back water for unnecessary activities after the Covid spikes in the region. They have also been told to expect a “change in taste and odor in drinking water” as the supplies of liquid oxygen used for water cleansing are being diverted to the hospitals for covid patients.
Florida could not be in the worst situation than it is nowadays. Death rates due to covid are increasing, and the facilities are struggling to cope with the demand for liquid oxygens. Hospitals are flooded with unvaccinated covid patients, which poses a threat to the overall country.
In a news conference on Friday, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer stated, “Our hospitals are experiencing the highest number of unvaccinated, critically ill patients at this point as any other point during the pandemic,” and added, “Many of these patients require liquid oxygen.”
Hospitals being crowded with Covid patients often use liquid oxygen for treating corona patients who have difficulty breathing. However, this same product is used to clean water and make it drinkable.
Despite facing a surge in covid cases, the Republican government Ron DeSantis has constantly downplayed the severity of the cases and fought against public health restrictions, including bans on mask mandates and Passport Vaccine. Even after setting multiple records of new covid cases in August.
The Utilities Commission of Orlando addressed the public “a regional shortage of liquid oxygen linked to the surge of COVID-19 inpatient treatments is impacting OUC’s treated water supplies.”
Dyer agreed with the Commission and said, “Demand for liquid oxygen is extremely high as the priority is to use it to save lives and to treat critically ill patients. There are impacts to the supply that OUC normally receives.”
Residents of the state need to cut back on water activities, including plants and lawn irrigation and scouring vehicles. Dyer warned the public that failure in doing so could lead to unacceptable water quality.
Dyer said that the city was on board with the Commission’s request and has reduced watering public parks and grass and started turning off fountains and other water features at public places.
Dyer blamed the unvaccinated as they put the entire state at risk and set them in a position where they could face water quality problems. The surge in covid cases correlates to the high rate of unvaccinated individuals.
