“Routine E.R. care is being slowed,” Mr. Newsom said. “The impact of this pandemic is being felt on the entire hospital system, and could impact each and every one of us — God forbid.”
California has in recent weeks become the epicenter of the pandemic, with more than two million confirmed virus cases, and 24,331 deaths, according to a New York Times database.
Intensive care units have been at or near capacity for weeks in Southern California and the Central Valley. Doctors and nurses have been forced to treat patients in lobbies and hallways. Tents have been erected to serve as waiting rooms, and in some cases, as field hospitals.
And even if most health care providers hadn’t formally begun rationing care, experts have said that full hospitals will probably result in fewer people seeking care they need, which is most likely already causing more deaths.
[See how full intensive care units are at hospitals near you.]
The current tidal wave of infections in the state, the nation’s most populous, started rising before Thanksgiving. As case numbers continued to skyrocket early this month, state leaders announced a plan for regional stay-at-home orders tied to intensive care unit capacity.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/us/ca-coronavirus-update.html
Comments