The US has surpassed 4,000 daily deaths by the coronavirus for the first time, a record set just a day earlier. The Johns Hopkins University census shows that there were 4,085 deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday.
The US also had nearly 275,000 new coronavirus cases. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 365,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus.
The numbers are a further reminder of the worsening situation after traveling for holidays and family gatherings, along with more time indoors during the winter months. There’s been a wave of cases and deaths in Arizona, Texas and Florida and California, where some hospitals are on the verge of rationing care.
Jae C. Hong / AP
A Los Angeles County hospital has been so overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients that it has now assembled a triage team that would ultimately decide the fate of the critically ill.
“The hospital system is curved as far as possible and the next sound could be a snap,” said Cliff Daniels, chief strategy officer at Methodist Hospital in Southern California.
“It’s the unimaginable decisions that would have to be made to deny care to people who need it because there aren’t the resources available,” he said. “We’re not there yet. We’re at a pace to get there.”
Some hospitals are so crowded that patients are sent hundreds of miles away for treatment.
The state’s Emergency Medical Services have set up an oxygen depot in Riverside County to help with the increasing number of COVID-19 patients, according to CBS Los Angeles. The oxygen depot, which consists of two large oxygen generators that will fill large tanks used by hospitals, will increase the local oxygen supply.