COVID-related hospitalizations continued to rise in San Diego in the region’s most recent daily report, marking the 40th consecutive day hospitalizations exceeded home discharge.
Municipal records show that the last time the total number of hospitalizations for coronavirus fell was on November 13, when the cumulative number of beds fell from 333 to 331. Since then, the number has continued to rise, reaching 1,458 on Wednesday .
There were signs on Thursday that the trend is expected to reverse in Friday’s report. An internal count sent to members of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Hospital Association listed 1,485 hospitalizations. Subtracting those at local military and veteran facilities, which are not included in the county’s daily hospitalization totals, the number of Friday hospitalizations is likely to be 1,418.
If the change signals a lasting decline, it comes down to the interval between Christmas and New Year. Thanksgiving Day clearly showed the power of festive gatherings to spread the virus, and experts have repeatedly said that similar gatherings over the next eight days would likely produce an increase in early 2021 that will push local health resources to the rationing point of care is necessary.
There are some signs that the audience may be starting to get the message.
The number of new cases announced on Thursday was 2,259, the third consecutive day that the number of reported new positive tests started with a 2 instead of 3. Although the total new cases above 2,000 is still many times higher than that what is needed to revert Due to the current pressure on healthcare facilities, which had only 22 hospital beds with staff remaining and available immediately on Christmas Eve, it remains good news that the total number of new cases has not exceeded 3,000 since 20 December.
Deaths, however, continue to rise with a further 32 announced on Thursday, just a day after a single-day record 39 appeared in the county’s daily report. Thursday’s list was aged between 46 and 98
The plans continue to increase local treatment capacity with the National Guard by establishing an alternative care facility at the Palomar Escondido Medical Center. A state official said preparations included bringing in additional hospital beds, instead of the cribs that were installed on some of the facility’s empty floors in April. Additional medical equipment was also being brought in with the possibility that the first patients could be admitted, probably from Imperial County, on Christmas Day, an official said by email.
The California Office of Emergency Services did not answer questions on what types of patients would be treated in the 200-bed unit on Wednesday or Thursday. Palomar said earlier that he is not fully equipped to provide intensive care.