
As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to surge in the Miami area, staffing has become a challenge for Jackson Health in Miami.
Nearly 200 Jackson Health employees are currently out with Covid-19, according to senior director of communication Jennifer Piedra. Most employees who test positive are out for 10 to 12 days.
Since July 1, 887 Jackson Health employees have been symptomatic or exposed to Covid-19, the hospital spokeswoman said. The positivity rate of employees who have been tested is 23%.
The state of Florida has dispatched 100 temporary nurses to Jackson Health. More than half of these nurses are already on site, and the rest are expected to be on board this week, according to Piedra. Jackson Health has also recently hired 100 nurses.
On Monday, the health system's infectious disease expert said "Miami is now the epicenter of the pandemic," as she compared the south Florida metropolitan area to where the pandemic originated.
"What we were seeing in Wuhan -- six months ago, five months ago -- now we are there," Lilian Abbo, with the Jackson Health System, said during a news conference Monday.
Read more here: