UK records 164 COVID deaths, 30,144 new cases… US hospitals buckling under delta surge: 25% of ICUs are over 95% full
The burden on US hospital ICUs has more than doubled since June.
The current surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the hypertransmissible delta variant is straining hospitals across the US, particularly in the South. Twenty-five percent of hospital intensive care units around the country are now above 95 percent full. That percentage is up from 20 percent in July and just 10 percent in June, according to data tracking by The New York Times.
The spike in critical care follows a surge in cases and hospitalizations. Average new daily cases in the country skyrocketed from around 12,000 a day in late June to 150,000 or so in mid-September. Hospitalizations have likewise risen, shooting up from an average of nearly 17,000 a day at the start of July to around 100,000 now. Though cases and hospitalizations are starting to plateau or decline slightly, they are still extremely high. Deaths, meanwhile, are increasing. In the past two weeks, deaths have increased 40 percent to the current average of nearly 1,900 per day.
Most of the cases and nearly all of the hospitalizations and deaths remain among the unvaccinated. Around 60,000 people in the US have died of COVID-19 since the start of July. With highly effective vaccines freely available, nearly all of the current deaths are preventable.
Now, along with the surge, public health experts fear strain on health care systems will lead to additional suffering and death in non-COVID patients. Hospitals in several states have been forced to ration treatments and enact crisis-care standards.
Hospitals in Alabama have exceeded 100 percent capacity of ICU beds. The Alabama Hospital Association on Tuesday reported that there were 1,592 ICU patients in the state and only 1,549 staffed ICU beds, an excess of 43 patients. The seven-day average of positive tests for the Yellowhammer State is 19 percent, suggesting that transmission is still extremely high. Alabama is one of the least-vaccinated states in the country, with only 40 percent of the population fully vaccinated. Generally, the hospitals and ICUs most overburdened are in the South, where vaccination rates are relatively low and transmission of delta has soared. In Texas, 169 out of 506 reporting hospitals have ICUs above 95 percent full, which is up from just 69 in June, the Times notes. In Florida, 24 hospitals have reported having more ICU patients than beds in the last week. In Mississippi, 94 percent of the entire state’s ICU beds are full. But the South isn’t the only place where hospitals are becoming overwhelmed. Last week, Idaho’s health department activated its crisis standards of care in 10 northern hospitals. Likewise, Alaska’s largest hospital—Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage—implemented crisis standards over the weekend. The hospital announced the decision in a two-page letter sent Tuesday. “The acuity and number of patients now exceeds our resources and our ability to staff beds with skilled caregivers, like nurses and respiratory therapist,” according to the letter, which was signed by Providence Chief of Staff Dr. Kristen Solana Walkinshaw. “[W]e must prioritize scarce resources and treatments to those patients who have the potential to benefit most. We have been required to develop and enact policies and procedures to ration medical care and treatments, including dialysis and specialized ventilatory support… Due to this scarcity, we are unable to provide lifesaving care to everyone who needs it.” The letter also noted that, with the crush of COVID-19 patients, some people seeking emergency care were sitting for hours in their cars outside of the hospital, waiting to be seen by a doctor.
UK records 164 COVID deaths, 30,144 new cases
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The UK has recorded 164 new Covid-19 related deaths and 30,144 new cases in the latest 24 hour period, government figures show. It brings the total number of cases to 7,400,739 and the overall death toll to 135,147.
Singapore’s health ministry reported 1,009 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, the highest since April last year. A recent rise in cases after the relaxation of some Covid-19 measures has prompted Singapore to pause further reopening.
Around 25,000 people joined a massive outdoor drinking party marking the start of term at a Madrid university without observing safety precautions, police said Saturday, admitting they were caught off-guard.
Half-term holiday bookings are up by 200% since the relaxation of travel rules in England.
Professor Adam Finn, a member on the JCVI, has warned of “uncertain times ahead” in the coming months, adding it was “sensible” for 12- to 15-year-olds to get the Covid vaccine.
Secondary schools in UK have been caught up in the row over Covid vaccines for students.
Ronapreve, the Covid antibody drug, is to be given to vulnerable NHS patients.
A disaster relief organisation founded by the actor Sean Penn is boosting Georgia’s drive to vaccinate people against the coronavirus.
Unvaccinated university students have been urged to get a Covid jab in freshers’ week to protect themselves and their peers against the virus.
Two professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing have reportedly refused to be vaccinated against Covid, causing complications before the show’s return on Saturday night.
The night-time economy in Wales needs “clarity” and “simplicity” when it comes to the implementation of Covid vaccine passes, an industry chief has warned.
Victoria police clashed with anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, as the Australian state recorded another 535 new coronavirus cases and one death.
Mexico reported 11,711 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 765 deaths on Saturday, Reuters reports. It brings the total number of infections since the pandemic began to 3,564,694 and 271,303 fatalities, according to health ministry data.
Boris Johnson is expected to push Joe Biden for a restoration of UK-US travel during a visit to the White House.
The US administered 384,911,290 doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of Saturday morning and distributed 466,569,635 doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from 383,994,877 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by September 17, out of 464,315,725 doses delivered. The agency said 211,489,242 people had received at least one dose, while 181,035,022 people were fully vaccinated as of 6 a.m. ET Saturday, Reuters reports.
Those most at risk from Covid-19 in Australia say the easing of restrictions when vaccination targets are met will bring anxiety and danger.
A school district in the Canadian province of British Columbia will be locking down schools from Monday due to ongoing anti-vaccine protests. The “hold and secure” protocol was enacted on Friday after people protesting against vaccines and masks, who the district said had been targeting schools all week, entered two school buildings in and around Salmon Arm, British Columbia. The protocol meant that students could not leave or enter the building for the rest of the day. All schools in the district will be under the same “hold and secure” guidance from Monday. Canada has seen a wave of anti-vaccine protests ramp up in recent weeks as the country’s federal election draws nearer, Reuters reports.
France has reported 7,414 new coronavirus cases, Reuters reports. The country has recorded more than 6.94 million cases in total.
Around 25,000 people joined a massive outdoor drinking party marking the start of term at a Madrid university without observing safety precautions, police said Saturday, admitting they were caught off-guard. Spanish media said it was the biggest such gathering since the start of the coronavirus pandemic when large public gatherings were halted to stop the spread of the virus, AFP reports. “There were thousands of people on the grounds of Complutense University, about 25,000,” a municipal police statement said, indicating the gathering appeared to have been organised online via Whatsapp.
Images on social media showed vast crowds of beaming youngsters gathered on the campus, drinking, dancing and hanging out with hardly a mask in sight. “Without prior warning from the university or time to prepare an appropriate operation, breaking up a gathering of some 25,000 people is an almost impossible job,” police said, indicating they had only reached the site after midnight. Although Spain has lifted many of its pandemic safety restrictions, people are still required to wear masks outdoors if they are unable to maintain a 1.5-metre (five-foot) safety distance from those around them. And large gatherings remain banned, although the numbers vary from region to region. But some people have dropped their guard given the rapid pace of the vaccination programme, with more than 75 percent of Spain’s 47 million residents now fully vaccinated.
Some more data from Italy. Patients in hospital with Covid-19 – not including those in intensive care – stood at 3,958 on Saturday, down from 3,989 a day earlier. There were 31 new admissions to intensive care units, down from 34 on Friday. The total number of intensive care patients fell to 519 from a previous 525, Reuters reports.
Some 355,933 tests for Covid-19 were carried out in the past day, compared with a previous 284,579, the he