As a record number of Americans are infected with Covid-19, largely due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant, some states’ health care systems are beset with nearly full intensive care units.
Nineteen states have less than 15% remaining capacity in their ICUs. Four of them have less than 10%: Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana and New Hampshire, according to data Wednesday from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The other states are: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont, according to HHS.
Nationally, the number of people hospitalized in the US with Covid-19 has reached a record high – 151,261 as of Wednesday. And as infection spreads, states and health care systems nationwide are handling shortages of available medical workers, who face a greater chance of Covid-19 exposure and must isolate after testing positive.
In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday he will be requiring hospitals to temporarily halt nonurgent procedures in an effort to get staff positioned to assist people who need help immediately.
“This is one of the ways to increase capacity to deal with this Omicron surge, obviously,” Inslee said. “So, we are going to be requiring hospitals to temporarily halt nonurgent procedures – so as much capacity and staff can be dedicated to emergent needs, the people who need this right now.”
Inslee said this new requirement is “not just for Omicron patients, but for heart attack victims, for car crash victims, for gunshot victims, they all need help right now.”
In Kentucky, hospitals have less than 10% capacity remaining in the intensive care units, according to data Wednesday from the Health and Human Services.
“I’ve already had to call out the National Guard,” Gov. Andy Beshear during a news conference Thursday. “And that next person in a car accident might not get the care they need. So get vaccinated for that person.”
National Guard personnel and other federal emergency teams have been sent to hospitals and long-term care facilities in places including New Hampshire to alleviate burdens with medical and non-medical tasks.
And a new wave of federally deployed medical teams will head soon to six states – Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island – to help hospitals combat Covid-19, President Joe Biden announced Thursday.