California COVID-19 surge leaves hospital nurses frustrated over staffing shortages The state s nurses union urges Congress to pass President Biden s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
, Associate Editor
Roughly a year into the pandemic, healthcare workers across the country are taking care of record numbers of COVID-19 patients, and many are doing so without access to optimal personal protective equipment, testing, safe staffing levels and other infection control policies.
In California, which has surpassed three million cases, nurses are facing an especially daunting task of caring for the more than 20,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients amid dwindling intensive care unit capacities, according to state COVID-19 data.
Coronavirus update, Dec. 26: Hospitalizations, infection rate flat in Stanislaus County [The Modesto Bee]
Dec. 26 Latest facts on COVID-19 in Modesto area
As Stanislaus County health care workers await a potential Christmas surge of COVID cases in the coming weeks, there was a small amount of light on Christmas Day, according to the latest data released Friday.
Hospitalizations in the county were down and the coronavirus positivity rate was the lowest in 11 days.
There were 324 patients with confirmed COVID patients in hospitals on Thursday, the lowest number in five days. Meanwhile, there were seven available staffed adult intensive care unit beds, the third straight day at least six were available, the county reported.