The ability of hospital intensive care units to care for additional patients with COVID-19 amid the growing pandemic is the key factor in determining whether a region falls under the stricter order of stay at home in the state.
The order is activated for at least three weeks when one region falls below 15%, and four of the five regions of the state are under that order now. Since Southern California fell below that 15% in early December, the available capacity in the region’s ICU has continued to decline steadily.
Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday that the total capacity available in the ICU state is 5.7%
Still, with vaccine shipments arriving all over California this week, Newsom said there is hope.
“Light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re still in the tunnel,” the governor said. “We are going through the hardest and most difficult increase we have experienced since the beginning of this pandemic.”
Hospitalizations in Southern California counties continue to increase. In Los Angeles County, there are 4,656 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19. This figure has risen steadily in recent weeks and is at its highest level since the pandemic began.
With the rise in seriously ill patients, hospitals have also prepared for an increase in deaths. Newsom said the state has ordered an additional 5,000 body bags and has 60 refrigerators waiting in hospitals across the state.
RELATED: The state is asking for more body bags and medical refrigerators, according to Newsom
In Southern California, a local hospital had to carry a refrigerated truck to potentially use it as a morgue if its current facilities were overloaded. Officials with PIH Health in Whittier say the truck is part of the hospital’s emergency management plan.
It was introduced as a precaution and is not yet used.
“As with any emergency management plan, we look to the future to forecast various scenarios and prepare accordingly to get the best care for our communities,” said Debra Legan, vice president of marketing and consumer involvement. of PIH Health. “Part of those plans include having a large on-site refrigerated truck for use as a possible morgue. The hope is that we don’t have to use it, but we have it if we need it.”
- ICU capacity available for California regions:
- COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Southern California by counties:
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