Record COVID-19 case counts in Shelby County threaten to overwhelm hospitals
Local hospital capacity in the "red zone"
By Kendall Downing | December 16, 2020 at 5:37 PM CST - Updated December 16 at 5:55 PM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The Thanksgiving surge of COVID-19 cases continues, and so does the strain on the areaâs hospital systems.
The Shelby County Health Department is reporting 779 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with nearly 2,700 infections having been reported in the last three days.
Hospital capacity is as tight as itâs ever been in the pandemic, with ICU utilization in metro hospitals at 98% and acute care utilization at 95%.