SANFORD, Fla. — Hospitals in Seminole County are "seriously" worried about the rise in coronavirus cases there, especially since they are close to capacity on ICU beds, county officials said Tuesday.

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Emergency manager Alan Harris said there were currently 203 coronavirus cases in Seminole County's four hospitals. Other county residents had gone to hospitals in Orange County instead, like the VA hospital, or Orlando Regional Medical Center.

There is a danger that intensive care unit beds will hit capacity as well. 

"The ICU beds are very, very close to full, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re all COVID patients," Harris said. 

Patients are being moved around in make sure the hospitals have enough ICU beds.

Coronavirus cases in the county had grown exponentially in the last month. 

According to the Florida Dept. of Health in Seminole County, there were 636 cases from mid-March through May. By the end of June, the county had seen 2,772 coronavirus cases.

So far in July, the county has seen 793 cases.

County medical director Dr. Todd Husty says the hospitals are very worried about what will happen in the next few weeks, as cases from the July 4 weekend become apparent. Husty says the problem isn't just beds, it's employees.

"The hospitals are having a hard time staffing," Husty said. "COVID-19 patients take twice as long as the ones that don’t. The more hospitalizations, the more it taxes the staff."

The hospitals are also asking people not to go to emergency departments at hospitals for a coronavirus test unless the patient has symptoms that would require them to be admitted into the hospital. A list of testing sites is available on the Seminole County website.

Husty, Harris and the rest of the county's leaders again urged residents to take the precautions to help lower the community spread: practice social distancing, wash your hands, and wear a mask.

"It shouldn’t be questioned at this point," Husty said. "I know that some of you don’t feel that way, I’m sorry, but the reason behind this, and the science behind this, is that it does work."