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U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams made a personal plea urging Americans to take COVID-19 seriously on New Year’s Eve, after announcing his wife had been admitted to hospital due to complications from cancer.
“My wife is admitted to the hospital due to complications from her cancer treatment. I am not allowed to see her due to # COVID-19[FEMALE[FEMININE restrictions, and I hope she doesn’t have to spend New Years in a hallway because the beds are full. What you do matters, even beyond COVID … “Adams wrote on Twitter Thursday.
Along with his statement, Adams shared a cartoon image of a masked heart that read, “Carrying is caring.”
My wife is admitted to the hospital due to complications from her cancer treatment. I am not allowed to see her because of # COVID-19[FEMALE[FEMININE restrictions, and I hope she doesn’t have to spend New Years in a hallway because the beds are full. What you do matters, even beyond COVID … pic.twitter.com/vqBqX9xOz6
– Jérôme Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) December 31, 2020
Adams’s post comes as US hospitals have reported overwhelming outbreaks of patients infected with the virus and, in some areas, have reached full capacity.
Last week, nearly a fifth of hospitals with intensive care units (ICUs) across the country said at least 95 percent of their emergency beds were in use. In total, 78 percent of intensive care hospital beds were occupied.
The situation has become so dire in some areas that hospitals have been forced to pitch makeshift tents and see patients in hallways and waiting rooms. In parts of Los Angeles County, the hardest-hit county in the United States, hospitals have even had to turn away ambulances seeking to drop off new patients.
SAUL LOEB / Getty
Health care experts have warned the situation could worsen at the end of 2020, with more cases being reported amid Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“We are seeing an increase in cases and deaths above what we expected,” said Dr Ali Mokdad, a senior faculty member at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and a former Center for Health official. United States Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), previously said Newsweek.
Mokdad added that he was very concerned that New Year’s Eve celebrations will lead to an increase in cases of the virus, as they are usually spent with friends outside of an immediate household.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, has previously said Newsweek that the start of the new year will likely see the worst levels of coronavirus cases to date.
“January is going to be terrible,” he said, before adding that “you’re going to have the Thanksgiving push super-imposed on the Christmas wave. So it’s entirely conceivable that January will be the worst.”
The United States recorded more than 19.8 million coronavirus cases and 344,030 deaths on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This New Year’s Eve marks a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) first announced the mysterious disease discovered in China, which was later identified as COVID-19.
Newsweek contacted Adams and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for further comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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