California became the first state in the country on Thursday to exceed 2 million cases of the new coronavirus, according to estimates by Johns Hopkins University.
Estimates from the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University show that the state recorded 2,002,494 cases of COVID-19. Nearly 24,000 people died in the state from the virus and the state has a 6.45% test positivity rate, according to estimates.
The gloomy milestone occurs when many hospitals in California are at or near capacity. Earlier this week, Governor Gavin Newsom warned that COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state could reach 100,000 in January.
At a joint press conference on Tuesday, employees from some of the state’s largest hospital systems, including Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and Dignity Health, as well as employees from the California Health and Human Services Agency and others, pleaded with Californians to continue to take precautions against COVID-19 in the midst of the outbreak.
ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO VACCINES ARE RARE, FOR A LONG TERM
“As the hospital bed count continues to decline, we will not be able to keep up with [coronavirus cases, hopsitalizations] continue to grow, “said Greg Adams, president and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, during his opening speech.
Adams warned that with patients with COVID-19 overloading the hospital, it will be much more difficult to treat emergencies unrelated to COVID-19, such as those who suffer a stroke or have a car accident.
“We want to make sure that we have the ability to serve all those in need,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sutter Health’s president of System Enterprises, Dr. Rishi Sikka, reminded Californians that their “little sacrifice” of staying away from friends and loved ones this holiday season will be a “different 2021”.
“We are asking you to stay [at] House. We know you are frustrated [about] be separated from others. But all the little sacrifices are worth it, [we will be] in a different place in a year, “he said.
HOW DO MODERN CORONAVIRUS VACCINES AND PFIZER COMPARE?
“As we heard, California is in a crisis mode – we’re breaking records that we don’t want to break,” like the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state and the number of patients who need ventilators or intensive care, said Dr. Thomas McGinn, executive vice president of Physician Enterprise at Dignity Health, during the conference.
McGinn said doctors have a “simple prescription” for Californians: “Don’t share the air”.
California has registered half a million cases of coronavirus in the past two weeks and in one month could face a previously unthinkable number of almost 100,000 hospitalizations, said Governor Gavin Newsom and the state’s top health official on Monday.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, said he feared that entire areas of the state could run out of space, even in its makeshift “capacity” units at the end of the month and early January. ”
In response, the state is updating its planning guide on how hospitals would ration care if everyone cannot receive the treatment they need, he said.
“Our goal is to ensure that these plans are implemented, but to work hard to ensure that no one puts them into practice anywhere in California,” said Ghaly.
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California is experiencing by far its worst peak in cases and hospitalizations. All of Southern California and the 12 counties of the San Joaquin Valley to the north have been without normal ICU capacity for days. These two regions are likely to have Newsom extended home stay requests, which means that many businesses must remain closed, restaurants can only serve for travel and virtually all retail is limited to 20% of capacity.
California has an average of almost 44,000 new confirmed cases per day and has registered 525,000 in the past two weeks. It is estimated that 12% of people with a positive test end up in the hospital.
“It’s been nine long months,” added McGinn at the joint press conference. “Now is the time to be disciplined, now is the time to persist.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.