Doctors say California is currently experiencing a “viral tsunami,” with cases of COVID-19 rising 68 percent in the past two weeks, and ICU beds are now in capacity in the southern part of the state.
California has surpassed 2 million cases of the deadly virus earlier this week, but experts predict the number will grow rapidly as residents gather to celebrate Christmas and New Year.
“We could have an increase over an increase over an increase in January and February,” Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday, urging residents to celebrate the festive season at home.
But many in the state fail to comply with its directive, and a new poll in Los Angeles County, which has been hit hard, indicates that a third of the region’s 10 million people still gather with people outside the household. their.
“People have become less sensitive to rising cases, less sensitive to risk than the onset of the pandemic,” Kyla Thomas, a sociologist at the University of Southern California’s Center for Social and Economic Research, told the Financial Times on Friday.
The result is a medical system at the breaking point.
Doctors say California is currently facing a “viral tsunami,” with COVID-19 cases rising 68 percent in the past two weeks, and ICU beds now in capacity in the southern part of the state.
As of Thursday, California had a record number of COVID-19 patients in hospital and intensive care, at nearly 19,000 and 4,000, respectively.
On the same day, hospitals in LA County diverted ambulances and left patients unattended for hours. County health officials sent a note to doctors, urging them not to send patients to the emergency room unless absolutely necessary.
There is also a drastic shortage of nurses and other medical staff, and California leaders are turning to Australia and Taiwan to meet the need for 3,000 temporary health workers.
Dr. Brian Gantwerker, who works in Los Angeles County, told the Financial Times that he “fears what the next few weeks will be like for Los Angeles.”
He and other doctors fear that they will have no choice but rational care.
ICU beds are already completely full, but if current trends continue, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 could double in the next 30 days.
“It’s a viral tsunami,” Robert Kim-Farley, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told The Financial Times.
While the number of people contracting COVID-19 who are hospitalized with the virus is growing in LA County, so is the mortality rate.
Currently, an average of 91 residents die every day due to COVID, up from an average of 10 a day at the beginning of last month.
Los Angeles County residents line up to be tested for COVID-19. Currently, an average of 91 LA residents die every day from COVID, compared to an average of 10 a day at the beginning of last month.
A patient with COVID is being presented in intensive care earlier this week. There are currently no spare beds for ICUs throughout Southern California
Despite the gloomy news, people in LA are leaving home to attend Christmas church services.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles allowed limited indoor services, although it also urged churches to avoid them in favor of outdoor or online services.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels held Masses on Christmas Eve and also planned indoor Liturgies for Christmas Day.
More than 120,000 Americans spend Christmas in the hospital battling COVID-19.
While California remains the epicenter of the virus crisis, dozens of other states are still struggling to contain the number of infections and hospitalizations.
More than 120,000 people across America will spend Christmas in the hospital battling the virus, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles allowed limited Christmas interior services. Father David Gallardo leads Christmas Eve Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Worshipers Gather for Mass on Christmas Eve in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Thursday
The number of cases also continues to rise, with more than 18.65 million Americans testing positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, a staggering 329,106 Americans have now died from COVID-19.
California recorded 394 new deaths on Thursday, while the death rate is also rising in Pennsylvania.
This state reported 245 new deaths in the 24 hours before Christmas.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Health Metrics and Assessment (IHME) at the University of Washington has released the latest COVID-19 deaths projections, showing that the death toll could reach 731,151 by April 1 without the launch of the vaccine and other of health.
However, the model currently projects that there will be a death toll of 567,195 by April 1, with mandates and vaccines continuing as planned.
Maryland incineration carrier Morgan Dean-McMillan on Wednesday moved a suspected Covid-19 positive body to his van. There have been 329,106 deaths caused by the virus nationwide since Christmas morning