Covid-19 hospitalizations hit record high in US
Washington, Jan 11 (EFE).- The United States set a new record for Covid-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, according to the latest data from the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
A total of 145,982 patients with Covid-19, including 4,462 children, are currently in hospitals nationwide, exceeding the previous high of 142,273 coronavirus hospitalizations reported on Jan. 14, 2021.
That record tally coincides with the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant, which is currently the dominant strain in the US.
It also comes amid a shortage of personnel at hospitals across the country, since many health care workers have tested positive and need to be kept away from patients while they recover.
On Monday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a limited state of emergency due to a doubling of ICU hospitalizations since Dec. 1.
Northam’s order allows hospitals to increase bed capacity, enables greater staffing flexibility and expands the provision of remote health care using telecommunications technologies (telehealth).
Some 2,700 health care professionals will be hired and trained in Texas to bolster hospitals there, joining some 1,300 personnel already sent across that state, CNN reported, citing a statement from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Colorado, for its part, has responded to its health care staffing problems by implementing guidelines aimed at lessening the burden on hospitals.
The new standards, for example, recommend against using an ambulance to transport people under 60 with symptoms of “viral syndrome” to hospitals unless they have severe symptoms or a history of high-risk medical conditions. EFE
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