“When hospitals start to to get full … we subtly change our thresholds for admitting someone to the hospital,” Bibbins-Domingo said. L.A. County is now averaging about 13,600 coronavirus cases a day over the last week, more than triple the comparable figure on Thanksgiving. A doctor at an L.A. County public hospital said this week that there were zero ICU beds left for patients, forcing the hospital to move into surge mode. The hospital was also asking staff to postpone any vacations in the next six weeks, the physician said. Patients without COVID-19 are being put wherever possible to make room for the crush of coronavirus patients.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 19, 2020 13:02 UTC