Julio Ochoa
Health News Florida EditorJulio Ochoa is editor of Health News Florida.
He comes to WUSF from The Tampa Tribune, where he began as a website producer for TBO.com and served in several editing roles, eventually becoming the newspaper’s deputy metro editor.
Julio was born and raised in St. Petersburg, and received a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado and worked at a paper in Greeley, Colo., before returning to Florida as a reporter and as breaking news editor for the Naples Daily News.
Contact Julio at 813-974-8633, on Twitter at @julioochoa or email julioochoa@wusf.org.
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As we enter the third year of the pandemic, Health News Florida reporters Stephanie Colombini and Verónica Zaragovia sat down to discuss COVID fatigue and what to expect in the coming year. -
The 76,887 new coronavirus cases brought the state's seven-day daily average to 56,759. -
Between Sunday and Thursday, hospitalizations in the state increased to 8,406 people. Nearly 1,000 people were in intensive care beds.
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The state is nowhere near its peak of about 17,000 coronavirus hospitalizations during the summer delta surge.
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The state reported 31,758 new cases Friday and 32,850 Saturday, a 320% surge in weekly numbers. The surge has come with a rush to get tested ahead of the holidays, and that trend continued after Christmas.
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It's the highest number of cases reported on one day since early September. Hospitalizations increased by 82 to 1,931, about 291 of whom were in ICU.
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Those who smoke the synthetic marijuana, also known as spice, are coming down with a condition that impairs their blood's ability to clot. -
Health News Florida and WUSF are reporting on staffing shortages in nursing homes and assisted living facilities and would like to hear from you. -
As of Wednesday afternoon, no health department in Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, or Sarasota counties had received the vaccine. -
While Pinellas (2.1%), Sarasota (2.4%) and Hernando (2.4%) Counties recorded positivity rates below the state average, other counties in the region were higher, with Hillsborough and Pasco at 3.5% each, and Polk at 3.4%.
