Hospital ICU Beds Dwindle In San Joaquin County As Coronavirus Surges; Federal Assistance Team Deployed
FRENCH CAMP (CBS13) — San Joaquin officials are sounding the alarm that hospital bed capacity is dwindling county-wide as coronavirus cases surge.
On Wednesday, the county's Office of Emergency Services revealed that hospital Intensive Care Units were already at 121 percent capacity. Total hospital capacity was at 71 percent.
The county says 195 people with coronavirus are hospitalized at area hospitals, representing 28 percent of occupied hospital beds. A total of 66 coronavirus patients were in local ICU care, representing 55 percent of occupied ICU beds.
These numbers have prompted officials to deploy a federal medical assistance team at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial Hospital to expand its ICU bed capacity. An extra 20 medical personnel will be arriving at the hospital on Wednesday and should bump ICU capacity up 15 percent.
However, OES officials caution that there are still hospital staffing shortages.
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Despite the dire numbers, officials urge people who need it to not delay seeking medical care.
As of Tuesday, San Joaquin County reported 212 new COVID-19 cases - making for 7,428 total cases county-wide.
