"No More Hospital Beds Available"... COVID-19 Medical Collapse 'Warning Signs' Across the US

Regions with ICU Bed Occupancy Rates Exceeding 95% Surge
Potential Collapse of US Healthcare System... COVID-19 Death Toll Expected to Rise
NYT, "Controlling ICU Bed Occupancy Rates Will Be Key Moving Forward"

A COVID-19 patient being transported to a hospital [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Suhwan and Naju Seok] As the number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States continues to exceed 200,000 daily, intensive care unit (ICU) beds have reached full capacity. Concerns are rising that the number of deaths will surge as severely ill patients may not receive proper treatment in hospital rooms.

According to foreign media including The New York Times (NYT) on the 9th (local time), the rapid increase in severe COVID-19 cases nationwide has triggered an emergency in securing hospital beds. Based on data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the 7th, the NYT reported, “The combined population of areas where hospitals have bed occupancy rates exceeding 85% exceeds 100 million,” adding, “Hospitals in areas where one in ten Americans live have occupancy rates reaching 95%, already hitting their limits.”

According to the American media outlet The Atlantic, the number of hospitalized patients and severe cases recorded the previous day were approximately 104,000 and 20,000 respectively, more than double the figures of about 47,000 and 9,600 as of November 1. Additionally, Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, recorded an ICU bed occupancy rate of 116%, while Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, reached 109%. A doctor in North Dakota, where many areas have occupancy rates exceeding 90%, said, “Patients are flooding into emergency rooms,” adding, “They have nowhere else to go.”

Concerns about the collapse of the healthcare system are emerging in various places. Beth Blauer, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, warned, “Suburban areas in the South and Midwest, where case numbers are currently surging, inevitably face limits in ward capacity,” and “There will be a significant increase in deaths as confirmed patients fail to receive timely treatment.”

Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor of New Mexico
[Photo by AP News]

As ICU beds become scarce, state governments are implementing strict quarantine measures. California issued a stay-at-home order last week for at least three weeks, while New Mexico announced a ‘ration care’ policy focusing treatment on patients with higher survival chances.

Researcher Blauer stated, “Managing ICU bed occupancy rates at a controllable level is key,” adding, “Until now, state governments have focused on the number of confirmed cases, but going forward, the status of ICU beds should be a core indicator for implementing quarantine measures.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.