In a matter of days, LA County is expected to exceed 10,000 deaths related to COVID-19. The province recently undertook new action and required all travelers to be quarantined for ten days. The region reports a 600% increase in COVID-19-related deaths since November.
RELATED: 1 person died of COVID every 10 to 15 minutes in LA County over the past week
“An average of nine to ten people in LA County test positive for COVID-19 every minute,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the country’s public health, said.
This past weekend, 96% of LA County hospitals had no space for emergency patients. Many facilities struggle due to lack of space. Members of the medical community are concerned that they are not only running out of beds to treat COVID patients, but that they are also the ones who need other medical attention.
“We’re getting into a crisis in Los Angeles County where the hospitals are full. One of the most important things to understand is that it’s going to be challenging if you get it. There’s no place in the inn,” he said. . Dr. Marianne Gausche-Hill with the Emergency Medical Services Agency in LA County.
LOOK: LA hospitals that no longer have room to treat patients with COVID or other diseases
The Minister of Health and Human Services in California, dr. Mark Ghaly said on Tuesday that hospitals in Los Angeles County are turning to “crisis care” and are trying to take another increase in the new year.
“We certainly know that hospitals in Southern California are in crisis, and that some parts of crisis care have begun to be implemented,” he said.
State officials notified hospitals late Monday that they need to prepare for the possibility of using ‘crisis care’ guidelines introduced earlier in the pandemic, which provide for rationing when staff, medicines and supplies are in short supply.
Decisions about medical care cannot be made based on factors such as income, age or gender, but are primarily based “on the likelihood of survival in the short term,” said Kim McCoy Wade, director of the California Department of Aging. said.
Ghaly warned that a “significant boom” could come to Southern California in January.
MORE: Who gets the COVID-19 vaccine next in California?
As the virus increased nationwide, just over 2 million vaccine doses were administered. The White House Task Force aims to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the year to January. Now begins a fifth vaccine phase 3 trials.
But vaccination of vaccines was not without problems. One pharmacy in Milwaukee had to throw out 50 vials – equivalent to 500 doses – of the Moderna vaccine after it was accidentally taken out of the fridge and spoiled.
The facility, Aurora Medical Center, has released the following statement:
“While some of the vaccine was administered to team members on December 26 within the approved 12-hour window after refrigeration, most of it unfortunately had to be discarded due to the temperature storage requirements to maintain its viability.”
In New York, a criminal investigation is underway after ParCare Community Health allegedly diverted doses of vaccines to more than 850 people who were not on the priority list. The facility said it was actively cooperating with the investigation.
“We will not tolerate any fraud in the vaccination process,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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