While Queen’s West Oahu declares the “disaster”, the crisis is getting worse in other hospitals

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – On Friday afternoon, Queen’s West Oahu declared a “disaster,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi confirmed.

“I found out a few days ago that Queen’s West is closed. Do not receive any ambulance. We have a mobile unit on the road around the city, ”he said. “There will be some people. I don’t know exactly how many at the moment. “

Healthcare experts say a disaster is declared when overflow capacity and other internal emergency responses that require external support have been exceeded.

More hospitals are expected in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, a second wave of medical staff from the mainland is expected to hit Honolulu this weekend. The group is made up of several hundred nurses and respiratory therapists who will be deployed across the state.

“The next two or four weeks will be one of the most difficult times Hawaii has seen from a health perspective,” Lt. Gov. Josh Green said.

In the city, no ambulance was seen coming or going from Straub Medical Center for a while on Friday morning, a sign that the emergency room is almost full.

“Almost all hospitals are filling up their intensive care units,” Green said.

It’s not just a problem on Oahu. Mayor Mitch Roth described what is happening on the island of Hawaii as “terrible.”

“All the hospitals talked about incidents in which there were people waiting in the emergency room not just for hours, but for days waiting to get into a ICU ward or a hospital,” he said.

The lieutenant governor said that as of 8 a.m., 371 people had been hospitalized with coronavirus across the state. He later confirmed that 10 more patients had been admitted before noon.

More than 90% percent is not vaccinated.

With more than 9,000 active COVID infections across Hawaii, hospitalizations are expected to double next month.

This latest increase has many in the community and some local leaders calling for mandatory testing of all incoming travelers.

“To try to get everyone’s evidence back, whether they’re vaccinated or not,” Roth said.

But Green said today that the state attorney general advised against it.

“He is very likely to be shot in court because the CDC sent advice on whether it is safe to travel if vaccinated,” he said.

People are now being urged to shoot.

“When talking to hospital doctors and nurses, one of the things patients often tell them is, I wish I had received the vaccine,” Roth said. “Because once in the hospital it’s too late.”

According to state data, 61.7% of Hawaii residents are now fully vaccinated.

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