California reported on Sunday that 45,352 people tested positive for Covid-19, continuing a surge that pushed hospitals and depleted staff one step further.
Around the United States, hospitals are struggling to keep up with the growth of patients with Covid-19 to a number they have never seen in a pandemic.
Overall, at least 125,000 people nationwide were hospitalized with coronavirus on Sunday, marking more than a month that the number of hospitalizations exceeded 100,000, according to Covid Tracking Project.
California emergency room officials said hospitals are treating an unprecedented number of coronavirus patients, including some health care workers.
At Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, 44 employees in the emergency department tested positive for the virus between December 27 and January 1, according to Irene Chavez, senior vice president and area manager.
Chavez said in a separate statement that the medical center is investigating whether an inflatable suit powered by air could have played a role in the spread.
“A staff member briefly appeared in the emergency department on Dec. 25, wearing an air suit,” Chavez said. “Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent and quite accidental, because the individual had no Covid symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around him during a very stressful time.”
Chavez said in a statement that air suits would no longer be allowed at the facility.
Military support: In Southern California, design and construction experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were sent to the Los Angeles area to “evaluate and, where necessary, upgrade oxygen delivery systems” to about half a dozen hospitals.
An area hospital has turned administrative offices and rest rooms into treatment areas for their coronavirus patients, said Colonel Julie Balten, Los Angeles District Commander for the Corps of Engineers.