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Fresno County’s hospitalization rate was approaching levels we haven’t seen since July and August.
As a result, holiday cheer will go hand in hand with holiday dread for hospital staff due to a peak in Valley cases.
Fresno County Director of Emergency Medical Services Dan Lynch said, “The capacity of the hospital is exhausted. We are in a situation where the hospitals are full. They are holding patients in areas of the hospital that do not contain patients, who are admitted in the hospital, as in their emergency departments. “
We have seen a sharp increase in hospitalizations in Fresno County this month. More than 100 people were hospitalized on November 1, 232 people last week but the number reached 287 on Sunday.
Adding to the problem, hospitals are understaffed with so many employees isolating themselves or recovering from COVID.
Lynch said, “Our dilemma is that we have beds available in the hospital. We just don’t have the staff to fill those beds.”
St. Agnes Hospital was ready to reopen two designated breathing units if the number continued to increase.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Gene Egerton said: ‘Because we are seeing a second flare up we expect to see more cases, so it is even more important to do the things that we have seen telling you to do. all the time, like a good hand-washing, physical distancing and wearing of masks. “
State projections indicated that hospitals in the valley would soon be pushed to the limit.
Gov. Gavin Newsom explained, “You can see the San Joaquin Valley as we expect over 83% of the bed capacity to be fully occupied just within the next month or so.”
But EMS director Dan Lynch believed bed capacity in Fresno County had already reached 90 percent.
The downtown Fresno Convention Center was set up as an alternative care site in April. Additional beds remained in place in case they needed them in the future.
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