The Southern California region reached 0% ICU capacity amid a record-breaking surge of COVID-19 cases across the state.
According to the state’s website, the 11-county region reached the 0% threshold on Thursday, while the San Joaquin Valley region was at 0.7% after dipping down to 0% multiple times in recent days.
The 0% capacity marker does not mean that no more Southern Californians can receive intensive care, but it does signal that hospitals are under a significant strain.
“When you hear the term 0% capacity, what we are going off of is the current beds available in the intensive care unit,” Dr. Vanessa Walker, a critical care physician for Sutter Health, told KCRA 3. “Usually, that does not take into account the surge capacity.”
Working in an ICU requires more extensive training for both doctors and nurses. Critically ill patients have different needs than others.
“A regular floor nurse may not be able to manage that. It is also hard for that one nurse to take care of more than one or two patients,” Walker added. “If we start filling up ICU beds, we’re going to have to ask these very stressed nurses to see even more patients.”
On both Tuesday and Wednesday, California recorded more than 50,000 new cases of the coronavirus, according to the state’s website. For perspective, Brazil, which is experiencing one of the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks, recorded just over 70,500 cases on Wednesday, according to the New York Times. If California were a country, it would be among the world’s top outbreaks.
The state will now begin opening temporary field hospitals in order to accommodate the surge. As it takes time for COVID-19 cases to develop after initial exposure, experts predict that Californians have not yet seen the full effects of Thanksgiving gatherings.
“There are simply not enough trained staff to care for the volume of patients that are projected to come and need care,” Dr. Christina Ghaly, Los Angeles County’s director of health services, said on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Our hospitals are under siege, and our model shows no end in sight.”
