Hospitalizations COVID-19

The state also reported 21,723 new coronavirus cases — and the number people being treated in intensive care for COVID-19 patients increased for the first time in two days to 3,385.

Fried's comments came at her daily coronavirus press briefing. She says she requested daily COVID numbers from the state more than two weeks ago to no avail.

The state has reported that more than 3,000 patients have been treated in hospital ICUs in Florida every day since Aug. 9.

In the greater Tampa Bay region, there were nearly 40,000 new cases. The state also reported 1,727 deaths this week.

The deaths, which may have occurred over the past several days or weeks, bring the state's coronavirus overall death toll to 43,632.

Hospitals are using three to four times as much oxygen as they were before the pandemic. Also, a lack of delivery drivers is adding to the problem.

While the deaths were recorded on Saturday and Sunday, they may have occurred in previous weeks or months.

“Over the last six weeks, we’ve seen a rapid increase in the number of COVID hospitalizations now exceeding over 17,000 individuals currently hospitalized for COVID," said Florida Hospital Association President Mary Mayhew.

For the week ending on Thursday, the state reported an additional 150,118 cases of the coronavirus — the second highest weekly total, trailing only last week.

With the surge in cases, one treatment for extremely sick patients is getting really hard to find. It's called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and it's a bypass machine for the heart and lungs.

Patients at high-risk of developing severe COVID-19 — including those with obesity or lung disease — can get the treatment, which DeSantis has been touting.

The CDC also reported Thursday that the number of coronavirus cases in the state rose by 15,586.