The start of 2021 was very bad for many patients and health workers, as the coronavirus continued to spread in California and the country, leading to a record number of deaths across the country, while some hospitals stretched to the breaking point.
California reported 585 COVID-19 deaths Friday afternoon, the most in one day since the onset of the pandemic. Newly confirmed cases in San Francisco rose to 447 – also a one-day high, according to a Chronicle analysis. The previous record, set on December 17, was 420 new cases.
Nationally, the total number of infections was 20 million more – the most in any country – as vaccine deliveries lagged behind the Trump administration’s promises.
Hospitals across California have little space and staff in their intensive care units, where COVID-19 patients often have to be treated for weeks and strapped to machines.
Two large parts of the state – the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California – are now at no percentage of ICU capacity, according to figures released by the state Department of Public Health on Friday. The Bay Area’s ICU capacity is at 6.3%, while Greater Sacramento is at 11.1% and Northern California at 33.3%.
“My biggest impression when I look at these numbers is just fear,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an expert infectious disease at UCSF, said. He explained that although doctors now have more tools and therapies to fight COVID-19 than at the beginning of the pandemic, these benefits mean little if a hospital is overwhelmed with more patients than it can handle.
“You can have the best therapy in the world,” Chin-Hong said, “but if there are a lot of people, you can not care for everyone in the same way.”
The situation is particularly dangerous in Los Angeles, where the unparalleled amount of COVID-19 patients makes it difficult for hospitals to deliver enough oxygen to keep patients alive, forcing Gavin Newsom to become Army Corps or Engineers to deploy.
The governor’s office for emergency services announced Friday that military experts at six older hospitals in the Los Angeles area will evaluate and upgrade oxygen systems, starting Jan. 2.
“By working on upgrading oxygen delivery systems at these older hospitals, we can improve the ability to provide medical care to those in need,” said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the emergency services office, in a statement.
According to the figures from the department of health, the hospitals in the Bay are not so stressed. The UCSF system still has 30% of its ICU capacity available, Chin-Hong said.
“We are doing pretty well as a province in San Francisco, but once again, our borders are porous,” Chin-Hong said. ‘The California epidemic is now being driven by Southern California and the Central Valley. It only takes a matter of time for the risk to increase. ”
He added that the situation here is likely to get worse before it gets better, as Friday’s numbers do not include anyone infected around Christmas.
Despite repeated warnings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities that people should stay home over Christmas, many Americans did not listen. Nearly a million boarded planes and flew on Christmas Eve, the Transport Security Administration said.
Officials are also concerned that a myriad of parties and gatherings around New Year’s Day could also cause a new increase in cases of coronavirus.
Jason Fagone is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jfagone