Local Hospitals Brace For Post-Holiday COVID Surge
MARYSVILLE (CBS13) - Concerns over a post-Thanksgiving COVID spike are posing concerns for local hospitals, especially one in particular located in a county with the highest COVID-19 positivity rate in the state.
Sutter County leads COVID-19 positivity rate in California, with nearby Yuba County coming in third. Both counties share a single hospital, which says it has no more ICU beds available. Doctors say they're concerned about the influx of COVID-19 patients that will come during the weeks following Thanksgiving.
"We are seeing a large number. For man, we are able to send home if they're doing well. However, we're seeing a significant increase in patients that require admission to the hospital. And so, we are really concerned over the next several weeks about these numbers going up," said Dr. Kamara Graham, Adventist Health Rideout Medical Center spokesperson.
The Yuba County public health spokesperson says the Rideout hospital is doubling COVID patients two to a room so they can free up an additional floor to prepare for the next surge of coronavirus hospitalizations. They're doing this, they say, not only because of the surge that came about due to colder weather but also because of people returning from the holidays.
During the 2019 Thanksgiving holiday period, Sacramento International Aiport served 30,000 travelers per day. This year, they saw just half of that number. During the month before Thanksgiving, they saw a 65%-70% decrease compared to the same period in 2019.
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