West Coast coronavirus surge pushing hospitals and testing sites to their limits
In Los Angeles, the wait to get tested for the coronavirus can take hours. That's the case at the COVID-19 testing site at Dodger Stadium and across the country, where delayed results are also a problem.
Emergency room doctors and nurses say they are running critically low on personal protective equipment — again. Among the states most overwhelmed is Arizona.
"It's July. We've known since February," said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero. "We have a week, two weeks of PPE, so that concern is very real."
Another concern in Tucson: people waiting up to five hours in 110-degree heat to get tested. "We should have had testing and tracing down pat and we don't," Romero told CBS News. "That lack of preparation is very frustrating."
Former Arizona Health Director William Humble says it's taking more than a week to get results back.
"The demand is far outstretching the supply, the turn around is really bad," Humble said. "People are unlikely to go into isolation without getting their test results back."
As the virus spreads, Arizona is also running critically low on hospital beds.
In California, hospitalizations have soared to nearly 90%. The State Assembly session was delayed and the Capitol forced to close after lawmaker Autumn Burke tested positive.
"I was shocked, and, like I said, disappointed and honestly heartbroken," Burke said.
In California, the state is testing around 100,000 people a day. At one site in Los Angeles, online appointments are booked and drivers say it's taking about 90 minutes to get through the drive-thru line.
