Wear masks or see thousands of new COVID-19 cases, doctor warns

TAMPA, Fla. - Florida could see a spike in positive COVID-19 cases by the tens of thousands next month, according to medical experts.

"If people pretend and think that this is over, and get out and start doing their normal routines again, we could be in a really bad situation in about a month or so," said Dr. Thomas Unnasch, a professor at the University of South Florida's College of Public Health.  "Worst case scenario is probably about 16,000 cases a day, of which, 1,600 or so are going to be sick enough to be tested and test positive, out of those 900 or 1,000 a day are going to be going to hospitals."

Dr. Unnasch says there's a very simple way people can do their part to prevent the numbers from being that high.

"If we all wear a mask for the next two months when we’re out in public, we’ll beat this thing," said Dr. Unnasch. "That’s all it’s really going to take folks; it’s not that hard to do.”

RELATED: Florida's COVID-19 cases rose more than 2,000 Sunday; second straight day of record jump

Wearing a thin mask or bandanna over your face will reduce transmitting the virus by 50%, a mask with multiple layers reduces transmission by about 75%, and a surgical mask reduces transmission by 90%, Dr. Unnasch says.