Doctors agree that this wave of the virus is more aggressive than its predecessors. More patients are seriously ill, their symptoms are worse, and their condition deteriorates to the point of needing ventilators more quickly. Moreover, many are in their forties, fifties and sixties, and not all of them have underlying health conditions.
Hospitals also say that many patients now require mechanical breathing assistance in ICU units for weeks after testing negative for the virus, due to lingering damage to the lungs. The number of medical staffers diagnosed with the virus or sent into quarantine has surged, apparently due to the British mutation, further exacerbating the manpower shortage.