The biggest fear is that, after a wave of cases at the Christmas and New Year holidays, hospitals will have to start rationing care – basically meaning that they would treat only the people who have the best chance of survival.
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Still, hundreds of people die every day in the state from the virus.
The nurses at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange City say it is painful to see this firsthand.
“They struggle every day and struggle to breathe every day, even with tons of oxygen. And then you just watch them die. They just die. And they fight death. It’s so sad,” described Caroline Brandenburger, a nurse at COVID unit.
The state has deployed nearly 90 refrigerated trailers, up from 60 a few weeks ago, for use as makeshift morgues.
Orange County reported an additional 29 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, along with 3,259 new cases of coronavirus. The county has 2,221 patients hospitalized with coronavirus, including 544 in intensive care.
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