‘We’re ready for war.’ Fresno County hospitals pushed to capacity amid omicron-fueled surge
Fresno County and central San Joaquin Valley health care providers are “preparing for the worst” as COVID-19 infections continue to climb Wednesday and area hospitals overflow with patients.
“We’re ready for war,” Dan Lynch, emergency medical services director for Fresno County, said Tuesday. “The hospitals are preparing for the worst.”
Area hospital beds were full Wednesday with 489 patients who were confirmed to have COVID-19 and 26 more who doctors believe have the virus, according to state numbers. That is 44 more people in hospital beds with COVID-19 than the previous day. The hospitals have averaged 363 patients over the last two weeks, records show.
The highly contagious omicron variant has fueled the surge in hospitalizations. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has now surpassed the worst moment of the last surge, which was driven by the delta variant, Lynch said.
The situation has been so dire that 10 hospitals and other medical facilities in the central San Joaquin Valley on Saturday sent out an S.O.S., begging for the public to get vaccinated.
“The hospitals are very, very busy. We’re trying to do whatever we can to try to slow down the number of people coming into the hospital,” Lynch said. “It’s a triple threat.”
By triple threat, Lynch means area hospitals are full, people who don’t necessarily need access to an emergency room continue to come in and hospitals are missing hundreds of staffers out with a COVID infection, Lynch said. Community Medical Centers reported, for example, that 737 employees have tested positive for the virus.
The plea for residents to do their part is not a new one, as health leaders throughout the pandemic have asked people to wear masks and practice hygiene that would slow the spread.
Lynch acknowledged that residents might be tired of hearing health officials begging them to help local hospitals, in this case by getting the vaccine. But, he said, hospital workers are also fatigued by having to constantly attend to overwhelmed hospitals.
“Your health care system is in trouble. If you’re not vaccinated, get vaccinated,” Lynch said on Tuesday. “Try to do what you can to slow down the spread of this so we can protect the health care system.”
Vaccines
About 56% of Fresno County’s 1 million people are fully vaccinated, according to county reports. Statewide, that number is about 68%.
The county added 1,963 new cases Wednesday, increasing its total number of confirmed cases to 178,922, according to state numbers. That is 186 new cases per 100,000 residents in Fresno County on average for the past seven days, and a rate that has continued to trend upward.
The county subtracted one death Wednesday that was originally attributed to COVID-19, bringing the total down to 2,425, the records show.
Other Valley counties
Tulare County added 926 cases, which means the total number of confirmed cases since March 2020 rose to 82,667, the state said on Wednesday. The number of deaths increased by three from the day before, rising to 1,196.
Merced County reported 519 more cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 51,746 during the pandemic, according to the state. There have been 718 deaths there.
Madera County has totaled 28,717 cases after adding 149 from the previous day. The number of COVID-19-related deaths in the county remained at 329, according to the state tally.
Kings County has 39,440 cases, which is 297 more than the previous day, state records show. The county’s total of 392 deaths remained unchanged from the day before.
Mariposa County counted 10 more cases, bringing its to total to 1,872, according to the state. No deaths were added to the total of six.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
