Hospitals try to keep pace, stores close during virus surge
As of Saturday, nearly 17,400 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections in California
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California hospitals are battling to find beds to house patients amid fears the explosion of coronavirus cases will exhaust staffing resources.
As of Saturday, nearly 17,400 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections more than double the previous peak reached in July and a state model that uses current data to forecast future trends shows the number could reach 75,000 by mid-January.
More than 3,600 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients were in intensive care units. All of Southern California and the 12-county San Joaquin Valley to the north have exhausted their regular intensive care unit capacity, and some hospitals have begun using “surge” space. Overall, the state’s ICU capacity was just 2% on Saturday.