For weeks public health and state officials have warned that Central and Southern California hospitals are quickly running out of intensive care unit beds for coronavirus patients ahead of a presumed post-holiday surge. But what exactly does it mean to be at 0% ICU capacity?
San Joaquin County s seven hospitals have 99 licensed ICU beds, according to the county s Emergency Medical Services Agency. On Tuesday, the county was at 155% capacity of those beds, with hospitals having to add an additional 54 to accommodate the surge in ICU patients. That number dropped to 53 overflow beds by Wednesday afternoon, EMS reported.
While the county is technically over its ICU capacity, EMS spokeswoman Marissa Matta said that doesn t mean hospitals will run out of beds. But she also said that current capacity levels are still a reason for serious concern.
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
EAST LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 20: Sisters Dolores, right, and Dulce Chavez hold hands on their mother Edith Fernandez as Dolores husband Antonio Elizalde and son Valentine, 12, wait alongside her casket at the Continental Funeral Home on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020 in East Los Angeles, California. The 47-year-old died Dec. 8, 2020 from complications of COVID-19. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
New, potentially more contagious coronavirus variant found in California, Gov. Newsom says
LOS ANGELES – The new, potentially more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom has been found in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
L.A. County surpassed the tragic milestone of 10,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, reporting 10,056 fatalities.
The Santa Clarita Valley has now tallied 16,542 COVID-19 cases – 173 cases more than reported Tuesday – and 120 deaths since the pandemic began.
To date, Public Health officials have identified 756,116 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County.
The number of new fatalities reported in the county Wednesday surpasses Tuesday’s all-time high.
Wednesday’s number of deaths also reflects a significant number of deaths from the backlog associated with the Spectrum outage and holiday reporting delays. Officials anticipate confirming additional deaths due to the backlog of death reports over the next two days.
Paramedics having some patients stay home as hospitals struggle with COVID-19 wave heraldmailmedia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldmailmedia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.