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LOS ANGELES.- California hospitals are struggling to find beds for patients amid fears that the rapid rise in coronavirus cases will exceed the capacity of care that medical staff can provide.
As of Saturday, nearly 17,400 people were hospitalized for confirmed or probable COVID-19 infections, more than double the highest figure in July, while a state model based on current statistics projects the number could reach 75,000. by mid-January.
More than 3,600 confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units. All of Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, 12 counties to the north, have been left with virtually no intensive care units, and some hospitals that ran out of capacity have begun using the so-called “overload” space.
Overall, the capacity of intensive care units in the state was just 2% on Saturday.
Due to the huge number of cases in the last six weeks, the death toll in California is rising. Another 272 deaths were reported on Saturday and nearly 1,600 in the last week.
In Los Angeles County, one of the hardest hit by the disease, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer implored people to stay home as long as possible, not to meet other people who are not from their home as well as wearing a mask and respecting social distancing.
“Places where people from different households gather and do not follow safety instructions contribute to an unnecessary spread of VOCID-19 resulting in hospitalizations and deaths that could have been avoided,” he added. “Respecting safety measures saves lives and is the only way to protect essential workers and our hospitals.”
Los Angeles County Health Authorities announced Saturday that they have amended their health orders to accommodate recent federal Supreme Court errors that provide for the provision of religious services inside and outside temples provided they are ‘observe proper health precautions.
Saturday night, Apple Inc. announced the temporary closure of all of its 53 stores in California due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the home-stay order in effect throughout the state, retail stores reduced their capacity to 20%.
At a time when establishments are struggling with what would otherwise be an intense New Year’s shopping season, many hospitals are gearing up for a possible rationing of medical care.
A recent document circulating among doctors at four Los Angeles County-run hospitals calls on doctors to change their strategy: instead of trying to save a life, their goal during the crisis is to save as many patients as they can. possible. This implies that patients with less chance of surviving do not receive the care offered in normal times.
“It is inevitable that something will compromise the ordinary level of care; it is not that an entity, system or locality chooses to limit resources, it happens that obviously there are no resources available to provide regular care,” according to the document obtained by the Los Angeles Times.