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SARASOTA – Sarasota Memorial Hospital added 20 new COVID-19 patients today. 

Three more people have died from COVID since Wednesday, and 4 more COVID-19 patients are now being treated in the ICU, with only 8 beds left. 

SMH is also scaling back on elective surgery and some other non-urgent procedures. 

The hospital will safely postpone non-urgent surgeries that require inpatient stays during this surge which will free up staffing, space and resources to care for all hospitalized patients.

Outpatient testing and procedures, such as colonoscopies, endoscopies, mammography and other imaging studies, will continue to be performed.

Patients will be contacted if their surgery is being cancelled. 

If they have questions, the should contact their doctor.