California reported Sunday that 45,352 people tested new positive for Covid-19 as they continued a boom that pushed hospitals and their depleted staff to the brink.
Around the United States, hospitals are keeping abreast of the rise of Covid-19 patients on the numbers they have never seen in the pandemic.
In total, at least 125,000 people nationwide were hospitalized with coronavirus on Sunday, indicating more than a month that the number of hospitalizations is more than 100,000, according to the Covid tracking project.
California emergency officials said hospitals are treating an unprecedented number of coronavirus patients, including some health workers.
According to the Kaiser Permanent San Jose Medical Center, 44 employees in the emergency department tested positive for the virus between Dec. 27 and Jan. 1, according to Irene Chavez, senior vice president and area manager.
Chavez said in a separate statement that the medical center was investigating whether an inflatable, air-powered suit might have played a role in the distribution.
“A staff member did appear briefly in the emergency department on Dec. 25, wearing an air-powered costume,” Chavez said. “Any exposure, if it had taken place, would have been completely innocent and quite coincidental, as the individual had no Covid symptoms and was only trying to elevate the minds of those around them during a very stressful time.”
Chavez said in the statement that air-powered costumes would no longer be allowed at the facility.
Military support: In Southern California, design and construction experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were deployed to the Los Angeles area to “evaluate and upgrade oxygen delivery systems” at half a dozen hospitals.
One area hospital converted administrative offices and converted rooms into treatment areas for their coronavirus patients, Col said. Julie Balten, Los Angeles District Commander for the Corps of Engineers, said.