California becomes starting point for COVID-19 surge over holidays

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As the nation grapples with the latest wave of coronavirus cases, California has borne the brunt of the deadly COVID-19 vacation wave. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged that the Golden State had recorded an astonishing 525,000 cases of coronavirus in the previous two weeks alone, with daily increases of over 40,000 cases suddenly becoming the new normal.

Los Angeles County, the largest in California, has the most new cases. County Health Services Director Dr Christina Ghaly told a press conference last week that one in 80 Los Angeles residents have been infected since the start of the pandemic.

“We are living in an explosive and very deadly outbreak,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County health official, adding that two people are dying from COVID-19 every hour in the county.

“Over 8,000 people who were beloved family members are not coming back,” Ferrer said, fighting back tears. “And their death is an untold loss to their friends and family, as well as to our community.”

But as bad as things have become in California, health officials are also warning that the worst is yet to come.

Hospitals reached a critical point on Friday that the state had worked to thwart with a stay-at-home order earlier this month, with intensive care bed capacity falling to zero percent in the southern region of the 11 counties. This includes Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Imperial, Inyo, Orange, Riverside, and Mono counties.

Cassandra Craig, a 10-year registered nurse who works in an intensive care unit in Southern California, explained the “feeling of dread and doom” that every working day now brings.

“I know I’m ready for something that might be sad or scary, and I know we’re busting the seams of our hospital over capacity, and we just need to keep up with the hits and be flexible. Craig told Yahoo News.

Overwhelmed health systems across the state have struggled to keep up with the demands of the surge in new cases, installing extra makeshift beds for COVID-19 patients and buying real estate in other parts of the hospital.

“We have changed the rooms to accommodate COVID positive patients in intensive care. We use space in units that are not generally used for the ICU. They are used for patients who are about to return home, ”explained Craig. “When you are in a space that is not designed for critically ill COVID patients, you are limited in space, limited equipment, and what you can and cannot do in that room.”

On Monday, Newsom, who placed himself in precautionary quarantine for 10 days on Sunday after one of his staff tested positive, warned that hospital staff were extremely limited.

“We continue to see record intensive care capacity, filling hospitals, a surge we are experiencing, no different from other parts of the country, but one that poses real challenges for our staff here in the State. The governor said at a press conference.

Craig said nurses are generally not allowed to have more than two patients due to a California warrant. But due to the personnel crisis, California’s medical systems have had to change these regulations.

Craig, a mother and wife, bemoans the strain the spike in cases has placed on staff. “We are working overtime. We are far from our families, ”she said. “People come in addition. Some people arrive on their days off. Some people arrive at 4 p.m. We are stretched. “

To help ease some of the burden, Newsom announced Monday that the state has deployed 607 state personnel, including the California National Guard, medical assistance teams, California Health Corps, personnel. contract and others at 75 facilities in 24 counties. The state has also opened alternative care sites.

Places like Los Angeles County are also making contingency plans in case they need to ration life-saving care, according to an Associated Press report. On December 15, Newsom ordered 5,000 body bags for southern California in anticipation of what many public health experts predicted to be a sharp spike in deaths from COVID-19.

Mortality from the disease caused by exposure to the coronavirus can occur quickly. Last week Craig had a patient in her 70s who, although not on a ventilator, was being treated with oxygen.

“Until my shift ended at 7:30 that night, she was awake and talking. … Very nice lady. She passed away a few hours later, ”Craig said, adding,“ It broke my heart that she passed away. We are sad. We are tired.”

As of Tuesday, nearly 18,000 patients in California were hospitalized with COVID-19, more than double the July peak of 7,170. Intensive care units contain 3,861 COVID-19 patients. Newsom admitted that a state projection model reveals there could be nearly 100,000 hospitalizations next month.

While health officials believe the rise in new infections can be attributed to October, Thanksgiving has proven to be a very common event.

Shoni Taylor, a clinical liaison specialist at a Los Angeles hospital who supports nurses at her medical center, managing COVID-19 positive psychotropic patients, expressed her grievance to Californians who have left pandemic and quarantine fatigue s ‘install.

“It’s really frustrating when you’re in the healthcare industry and you’re on the front lines and you see people still coming together, still having parties,” Taylor told Yahoo News, adding: “ You get a little frustrated because ‘I’m not doing any of that. I want to go on vacation! I want to get together with all my friends and family … but I try to be responsible. There is so much resistance, and the cases keep going up and up.

The recklessness of large indoor gatherings is what contributed to California’s most recent stay-at-home order, issued in early December, based on an area’s intensive care capacity. If the capacity drops below 15% in a designated area (Northern California, Grand Sacramento, Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California), that area must follow the Stay Home Order. Californians are expected to reduce nonessential contact outside of their homes unless they are required to perform a necessary task like shopping for groceries, taking medication, or exercising. Al fresco dining at restaurants – once seen as a liner for Southern California, where temperatures are expected to hit the 70s over Christmas – have also been banned, and all non-essential travel is banned.

“Our actions today can make a difference in what happens down the road,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly warned during Monday’s briefing. “All our abilities not to mix [and] keep our faces covered to reduce the likelihood that we will transmit COVID or be infected by someone else who gives it to us. It becomes a victory for the state. ”

Craig agreed. “Do you really want someone to get sick?” It’s not worth the shot. It is not worth the pain and sorrow you are going to endure.

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