California reported Sunday that 45,352 people tested positive for Covid-19 recently, continuing a wave that has pushed hospitals and their depleted staff to shore.
In the United States, hospitals are competing to keep up with the rises in Covid-19 patients in figures they have not seen at any other time since the pandemic.
In general, at least 125,000 people nationwide were hospitalized with coronavirus on Sunday, marking more than a month that the number of hospitalizations has exceeded 100,000, according to the Covid monitoring project.
California emergency officials said hospitals treat an unprecedented number of coronavirus patients, including some health workers.
At the Kaiser Permanent Medical Center in San Jose, 44 emergency service employees tested positive for the virus between Dec. 27 and Jan. 1, according to Irene Chávez, senior vice president and area manager.
Chávez said in a separate statement that the medical center is investigating whether an inflatable suit with air may have played a major role in the spread.
“A staff member briefly appeared in the emergency service on Dec. 25 in an airy disguise,” Chávez said. “Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been totally innocent and quite accidental, as the individual had no covid symptoms and only intended to lift the spirits of those around him at a very stressful time.”
Chávez stated in the statement that air suits will no longer be allowed at the facility.
Military support: In Southern California, design and construction experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been deployed in the Los Angeles area to “evaluate and, if necessary, improve oxygen supply systems.” about half a dozen hospitals.
An area hospital turned administrative offices and rest rooms into treatment areas for its coronavirus patients, said Colonel Julie Balten, commander of the Los Angeles District Corps of Engineers.