ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — We are hearing an alarming statistic on both sides of Tampa Bay. More people are drowning in local waters since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital is reporting a 100% increase in drownings from March to May 2020 compared to the same time period in both 2018 and 2019.
Dr. Danielle Mecurio wants to remind parents to keep an eye on their kids at all times when you are around a pool or any other type of water.
"The longer you're under the water the worse the outcome is," says Dr. Mercurio. "But when we see young children that come in that have been under the water for 2 to 3 minutes and someone has been there to provide CPR immediately there outcomes can be okay."
Dr. Mecurio advises parents to install pool alarms and fences and keep distractions limited when near the water.
Johns Hopkins All Children's offers water watcher tags for people. You can get one of those by clicking here.
The hospital is also recommends that you learn CPR no matter your age. The American Heart Association offers CPR training, but you can also get an idea for how to perform CPR on this YouTube video.
