Rural hospitals are being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients across the US

Coronavirus cases have surged across the United States in recent days, overwhelming hospitals that serve rural communities.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are up by at least 5% in 37 states, CNBC said in an analysis published Monday. Now, doctors in many areas are left scrambling to find patient beds as cases jump, according to multiple news outlets.

For Upland Hills Health in Wisconsin, doctors for the first time aren’t able to bring patients to bigger hospitals, CBS News reported.

“There have been situations where they’ve said, ‘Well, we don’t really have any ICU beds available, so you’re going to have to continue to care for this patient,’” Dr. Sarah Fox told the news outlet.

The hospital isn’t alone.

Medical centers in at least three other states say they are struggling to keep up as coronavirus cases surge. Some of the latest spikes are in the Midwest, where Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin have had about 20% of COVID-19 tests come back positive, CBS News reported.

In South Dakota, the new infection rate in one rural area has swelled to among the highest rates in the country.

“All of a sudden it hit, and as it does, it just exploded,” said Dr. Tom Dean, a family physician in Jerauld County, according to the Associated Press.

Small hospitals are struggling to respond, with one in North Dakota having to transfer patients to other states and another in Iowa facing staffing shortages as employees get sick, NPR reported.

What could be behind the surge?

Last week, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a national rise in coronavirus cases was linked to “small household gatherings,” McClatchy News reported.

In rural Tennessee, Dr. Martin Chaney said he’s seeing a similar pattern.

“It’s families getting together, small groups of people gathering, they let their guard down, they’re not distancing, they’re taking their masks off,” said Chaney, chief medical officer of Maury Regional Health, WSMV reported.

To help stop the spread of the virus, the CDC urges everyone to wash their hands, wear face masks in public and avoid crowded areas.

Doctors told news outlets small communities aren’t spared from COVID-19 outbreaks, which can take their toll.

“One or two people with infections can really cause a large impact when you have one grocery store or gas station,” said Misty Rudebusch, medical director of Horizon Health Care in South Dakota, the AP reported. “There is such a ripple effect.”