Hospital admissions for the coronavirus in the US have hit a record high since Monday, with more than 121,000 people hospitalized nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
This figure includes 22,592 intensive care patients, up from 16 percent capacity in September to 40 percent.
A continued increase could put overwhelmed hospitals in a position to ration care, CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner said in an appearance on the network.
“If you have no breathing equipment, no nurses to take care of patients, no IC beds, we are going to have these terrible discussions with families, so people have to stay at home, and when they go out, they have to wear a mask,” he said.
Individual states are also facing record highs in hospital admissions. On Monday, Texas reported 11,351 patients, surpassing the July 22 high of 10,893. The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council said the area also hit a new peak at 3,476, according to a local ABC affiliate.
North Carolina also hit a new high for hospital admissions Monday, according to data from the State Department of Health and Human Services. In the past six weeks, the number of adults in state intensive care units for the virus has doubled, while the total number of hospitalizations for coronavirus has doubled in the past 38 days, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
“If you had asked anyone in March, I don’t think anyone would have predicted we would be where we are today, still fighting this pandemic,” Johnston told UNC Health Care President and CEO Tom Williams. newspaper.
Meanwhile, Arkansas registered its own new spike in hospital admissions for the coronavirus with 1,155 on Monday.
“It will take a few days to know if the increase in hospital admissions is due to build-up after the long Christmas weekend,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson
Asa Hutchinson Economists Warn To Rule Out State Aid From COVID-19 Emergency Relief Governors Of Two Parties Call On Congress To Approve Coronavirus Relief Package Smearing Presidential Election Will Disarm Young Voters And Undermine Democracy MORE (R) said, according to a local ABC affiliate. “Regardless, the high number of cases continues to put pressure on our healthcare system.”