-->

Coping with COVID: Regional ratio of COVID-19 patients hospitalized falls below six percent

By Dennis Boone and Madison Parry

Data from the Mid-America Regional Council COVID-19 Data Hub shows the share of patients hospitalized with virus fell below six percent on Wednesday. This was the first time that patient ratio was under 6 percent since Oct. 18, 2020.

For hospitals slammed through the fall as COVID-19 admissions skyrockets, the news continues to suggest relief—conditioned, for the moment, on whether relaxed restrictions on business operations and public gatherings leads to additional outbreaks.

According to the Mid-America Regional Council ‘s tracking dashboard, the share of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday fell below 6 percent—just barely, at 5.99 percent. But it was the first time that patient ratio had been under 6 percent since Oct. 18. The COVID-19 patient population share has steadily receded since peaking at 17.38 percent on Dec. 12. According to industry estimates, anything above a 10 percent COVID-19 patient load indicates a hospital is experiencing elevated stress on its staff and resources; anything over 20 percent indicates “extreme stress.”

With 23 of the 27 hospitals in the MARC territory reporting as of Wednesday, more than 30 percent of their combined 4,500 beds were available. In June, with more area hospitals reporting a far higher total capacity of 7,500 beds, more than half were available for the anticipated surge in admissions.

 

Posted 02/25/2021