ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — As national coronavirus cases soar, cases at the local and state level — including hospitalizations — remain steady.

But infectious disease experts say everyone should keep taking precautions with an expected spike in cases looming everywhere later this fall and winter.

Taryn Burke says when she’s not coaching at UCF, she mostly tries to stay away from groups of people.  She’s playing it safe, especially with a spike in cases where she lives in Oviedo and where she works at nearby UCF.

“It worries me a little bit, but I’m definitely being super cautious,” said Burke.

In Central Florida, the positivity rate has hovered around the 5% mark for weeks. And hospitalizations, which were at about 1,500 in July, have dropped to about the 400 mark and have stayed there for several days.

Dr. Michael Muszynski, who’s studied infectious diseases for decades, says there’s a reason hospitalizations have stayed down.

“It’s suggesting our care has gotten better — we’ve learned how to take care of this disease with more experience over time,” he said. “And also younger people are getting infected, so they tend to be hospitalized less.”

But statewide positive cases have increased with nearly 4,000 new cases on Friday.

And nationwide data from Johns Hopkins University shows more than 71,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, which are most new cases in a day in three months. 

Muszynski says it’s hard to tell whether increases in cases are part of a major spike that’s expected in the fall and winter. But he says that spike is expected to happen thanks to so much opening up, people becoming more and more complacent, and the fact that there are still many people who are still vulnerable to complications from the virus.

“The population — it has a lot of susceptible people still in it,” said Muszynski.

Taryn Burke says she’s not letting up on the measures that have kept her safe up to now.

“At UCF as people are getting sick of being cooped up all the time, they’re probably feeling a bit antsy, so it’s concerning" she said. "But personally, and the people I’m around, we’re taking precautions."