WATERTOWN â North country hospitals saw a small increase in average hospital occupancy last week as concerns mount over a possible influx of COVID-19 patients overwhelming the regionâs medical infrastructure.
The seven-day average combined inpatient occupancy rate for north country hospitals rose from 55.5% to 59.1% between the weeks beginning Nov. 27 and Dec. 4, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This represents an increase of 3.6 percentage points over that period.
But if the hospitalization increase were to continue at its current pace for three weeks, it would still be well below the stateâs red zone threshold.