Record COVID-19 hospitalizations strain system again

Experts warn that hospitals nationwide face larger capacity hurdles now compared with the pandemic’s earlier surges. The COVID Tracking Project said the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 65,368 on Wednesday, passing the record set Tuesday for the highest number of hospitalizations since April. Hospital and disaster-response officials note that current cases are more geographically widespread. Randall W. Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, notes: “What we are finding is the disease is being spread in gatherings; family gatherings, weddings, holidays, and is being spread by people who know each other.” The pandemic’s effect on patients and hospitals will vary widely because of regional differences in health care services, says Molly Jeffery, scientific director of emergency medicine research at the Mayo Clinic. For instance, hospitals outside metro areas have fewer intensive-care beds per 10,000 people, on average, according to an April analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. More rural residents, on average, are at risk of severe COVID-19 because of age and health conditions than those living in metropolitan areas, researchers reported in the Journal of Rural Health. Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota said Monday that asymptomatic health care workers with COVID-19 would be able to continue working in the state, but only with coronavirus patients, under an amended state order and CDC guidelines for crisis staffing.