The beginning of 2021 was bleak for many patients and healthcare professionals, as the coronavirus continued to increase throughout California and the country, leading to a record number of deaths across the state, while some hospitals pushed to the limit.
California reported 585 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday afternoon, most of it in a single day since the pandemic began. New confirmed cases in San Francisco have increased to 447 – also a single-day peak, according to an analysis by the Chronicle. The previous record, set on December 17, was 420 new cases.
Nationally, the total number of infections reached 20 million – the highest in any country – as vaccine deliveries fell far short of the Trump administration’s promises.
Hospitals across California are short of space and staff in their intensive care units, where patients with COVID-19 often need to be treated and strapped to machines for weeks.
Two large parts of the state – the San Joaquin Valley and southern California – are now at zero percent of the ICU’s capacity, according to data released Friday by the state’s Department of Public Health. Bay Area’s ICU capacity is at 6.3%, while Greater Sacramento is at 11.1% and in Northern California at 33.3%.
“My biggest impression when I look at these numbers is just fear,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF. He explained that while doctors now have more tools and therapies to fight COVID-19 than at the beginning of the pandemic, these advantages mean little if a hospital is overloaded with more patients than it can handle.
“You can have the best therapy in the world,” said Chin-Hong, but “if you get a lot of people, you can’t take care of everyone in the same way.”
The situation is particularly dangerous in Los Angeles, where the unprecedented volume of patients with COVID-19 is making it difficult for hospitals to supply enough oxygen to keep them alive, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to send experts from the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services announced on Friday that at six former Los Angeles area hospitals, Army experts will evaluate and update the oxygen systems, starting on January 2.
“By working to update the challenging oxygen delivery systems in these older hospitals, we can improve the ability to provide life-support medical care to those in need,” said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the emergency services office, in a statement.
Bay Area hospitals are not so stressed, according to the state health department’s figures. The UCSF system still has 30% of its ICU capacity available, Chin-Hong said.
“We get along very well as a county in San Francisco, but again, our borders are porous,” said Chin-Hong. “The California epidemic is driven by Southern California and the Central Valley now. It only takes a matter of time for the risk to rise. “
He added that the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better, because Friday’s figures do not include anyone who was infected around Christmas.
Despite repeated warnings from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health officials that people should stay home for Christmas, many Americans have not listened. Nearly a million boarded planes and flew on Christmas Eve, the Transportation Security Administration said.
Authorities are also concerned that a series of parties and gatherings around New Year’s Day may also result in a further increase in coronavirus cases.
Jason Fagone is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jfagone