Need a hospital visit on holiday weekend? Why your wait will likely be longer than usual

A rise in COVID-19 cases in Fresno County prompted concern from county officials Friday, who noted a near doubling in hospitalizations due to the virus.

The impact on hospitals prompted Fresno County public health officials to caution residents to only seek emergency medical services for life- or limb-threatening emergencies. That included those seeking ambulances and treatment in area emergency rooms, according to Sim Dhillon, spokesman for the Department of Public Health.

Officials issued the caution several hours after Dr. Rais Vohra, the county’s interim health officer, noted during his COVD-19 update Zoom call that the positivity rate among county residents had risen past 17%, placing the county in the top tier of California counties.

Vohra asked those attending Fourth of July events to consider wearing masks while indoors because of the increase.

“A lot of people are coming down with COVID,” Vohra said. “We continue to have high case rates. Wear masks, especially around strangers indoors.

“If you have COVID, take a timeout, stay indoors, and test yourself.”

Dan Lynch, the county’s emergency medical services director, said the increasing number of hospitalizations is “causing hospitals to operate above capacity.

“This causes patients to be housed in the emergency room, which means less beds for people seeking care at the emergency department. This trend causes significant waiting room delays but also delays in ambulances trying to turn over patients to hospitals.”

Vohra noted that anyone who believes they are infected with COVID-19 should consider test-to-treat services to decrease the burden on hospitals For a list of test-To-treat locations, visit the count’s COVID-19 page at bit.ly/3NCLt9d.

The increase in COVID-19 cases and subsequent hospitalizations at the start of a holiday weekend is especially problematic because of potential fireworks-related injuries.

Since the local start of the pandemic in March 2020, there have been 247,952 cases in the county, according to the latest data, along with 2,783 deaths, including six in the last week of June.

Officials reported that about 60% of county residents are fully vaccinated, but Vohra cautioned of the need to maintain vigilance against the virus by continuing to update protection through boosters.