Calgary Florida Requests Hundreds Of Ventilators Amid COVID-19 Surge | HuffPost Latest News - Action.News ABC Action News WestNet-HD Weather Traffic

The federal government has sent hundreds of ventilators and other oxygen devices to the state of Florida following a request from local health officials as coronavirus cases and related hospitalizations continue to rise across the state.

The Strategic National Stockpile sent 200 ventilators, 100 high-flow nasal cannula kits and related medical supplies to the state earlier this week, a Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost on Wednesday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has continued to downplay concerns about the virus spread, told reporters on Tuesday that he wasnt aware of health officials request and expressed doubt that it was true. Floridas hospitals are reporting their highest numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began, according to data from the Florida Hospital Association and HHS.

Florida COVID-19 Update for August 10, 2021

Total Confirmed Hospitalizations: 14,787 pic.twitter.com/T3thlJwHyL

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Florida COVID-19 Update for August 10, 2021

Total Confirmed Hospitalizations: 14,787 pic.twitter.com/T3thlJwHyL
Florida Hospital Association (@FLHospitalAssn) August 10, 2021

I would honestly doubt that thats true, but Ill look, DeSantis said of the supplies request, which ABC News first reported and is definitely true.

We have a lot of stuff that we stockpiled over the last year and a half through the Department of Emergency Management, he added, referring to the states Division of Emergency Management.

A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health told HuffPost that the states health care facilities had requested the extra medical supplies and the DOH then assessed that request.

The Department routinely works with the federal government to ensure adequate resources are available and ready to be distributed at all times, as done with this recent request, DOH spokesperson Weesam Khoury told HuffPost.

DeSantis office did not respond to HuffPosts request for comment Wednesday.

COVID-19 cases have been rising across the country in recent weeks, though Florida has become a particular hotbed for infections.