ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — New COVID-19 cases in Florida have exceeded 3,000 for the fourth day in a row on Sunday, a worrying sign for the summer months ahead.
"I'm frightened for myself, my family, my patients, for the citizens of Florida," said infectious disease doctor John Sinnott.
With the current trajectory the state is on, he worries where cases will be in July. He said now is the pivotal moment -- the time to act, "There's no treatment for this disease, okay.
"There's only prevention."
Many of the new cases in the Tampa Bay area are among younger people, but being younger does not mean there is no risk. The long-term effects of COVID-19 are not known.
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"So the idea that you get this and just get over it, is not known, but I'm deeply concerned that that is not the case," Sinnott said.
To help stop the spread, Sinnott said we have to follow the three W's: Wear your face covering, wash your hands and watch social distancing.
"If we don't do this, if we don't pay attention to these three W's, okay, we have 115,000 dead in America now, but it will be 200,000 by Sept. 15," Sinnott said.
He argues that wearing masks in particular needs to be observed.
"I'm deeply troubled by the fact that masks have become somewhat politicized. This should not occur. We are all in this together," Sinnott said. "Someone else might have a totally different religious viewpoint, a different political viewpoint, the virus doesn't care.
"We need to look out for each other."
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