Ahead of the Memorial Holiday weekend and the start of the summer vacation season doctors are warning about the risks of being around the water for children- especially after a year of COVID-19 restrictions.
Dr. Don Plumley- director of pediatric trauma at Orlando Health says we could see a sharp increase in drownings--
"What we're concerned about is last year being a limited travel year, limited activity year, people just aren't used to being around water," Dr. Plumley said. "Kids didn't get swim lessons last summer, people didn't travel."
Dr. Plumley is promoting the 'ABC's' of being safe around the water. 'A' is probably the most important. It stands for adult supervision.
"The most common drowning victims are 1-4 year olds. It's lack of supervision."
'B' is for barriers around the pool and 'C' is for swim classes. Dr. Plumley says drownings are surging in Central Florida with a 266% increase over the last 6 weeks. The tragic accidents primarily involve tourists.
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