For the past 15 weeks, sleep is the only time that Catherine Davis is not thinking of Covid-19.
© Eisenhower Health
California hospitals struggle to keep up with rising Covid-19 patients
Even then, she says that she wakes up sometimes with thoughts of “How long are we going to hold this? How long are we going to deal with this every day?”
Davis is the director of nursing for Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California, a deserted city in Riverside County, about 100 miles from Los Angeles. She and her colleagues are on the verge of running out as a wave of coronavirus cases has nearly overwhelmed staff there.
“Until this (coronavirus outbreak), in my unit we would possibly lose one patient a year,” he said. “We have had 40 deaths in our unit. However, we have treated more than 700 patients.”
With a death count far beyond what anyone in her unit has seen in such a short time, she said the staff is emotionally and physically exhausted.
“We really agreed as a staff, if we were comfortable with him, we would make sure that a patient did not die alone. Therefore, we would take turns spending time with them and holding their hands and talking to them,” Davis said.
A medical team from the United States Air Force was sent to the hospital to help with the increase in patients.
California was moving in the right direction
That was not how Davis imagined what would normally be a sleepy summer in his city. California seemed to be moving in the right direction when it came to Covid-19. It was the first state to impose an order to stay home on March 19. Less than two months later, on May 8, the numbers had dropped enough for the state to begin the first phase of reopening.
California Governor Gavin Newsom told his citizens: “You have turned the curve.”
But then came Memorial Day. In early June, the numbers began to rise. The seven-day average for daily coronavirus cases totaled more than 2,600. Then they went off.
By July 11, the seven-day average had risen to 9,400 new coronavirus cases per day, an increase of more than 250%. The numbers fluctuate daily, but the trend shows that California is on the rise. By July 13, Newsom ordered the closure of bars, indoor restaurants, movie theaters, wineries, and some other businesses across the state again. So what went wrong?
Anne Rimoin, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, says the answer is simple. Some governments and people became complacent.
“You know, we opened too soon. We didn’t have the virus fully under control,” said Rimoin.
But, he added, “people don’t follow the rules. They don’t wear masks. They’re not distancing themselves socially. They’re not doing what they have to do.”
In places like Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties, masks are no longer required. In Orange County, which borders Los Angeles County, around 100 people attended a meeting of the County Board of Supervisors in mid-June to speak their minds about a mask mandate that had been implemented just two weeks. All but one speaker wanted to remove the mask mandate.
“This mask mandate is ridiculous,” said one woman as she stood in front of the microphone.
Another woman thought it was all based on deception. “None of this is based on science, but rather on a nefarious political agenda to silence people and strip the liberties of the American worker,” he said.
‘Sicker than you can imagine’
They got their wish, but now Americans are becoming infected at alarming rates in their community. Any epidemiologist will tell you that wearing a mask is not a hoax, but based on simple science.
But if people don’t believe in public health officials, they might believe that nurses and doctors care for the sick in their communities. They are seeing their hospital beds full of people suffering from Covid19.
“They are sicker than you can imagine and beyond that. We are not trying to say that everyone who gets the virus gets sick and ends up in the hospital,” said Dr. Anil Perumbeti, a pulmonologist who works at Eisenhower Health. in Riverside County. “But the numbers are so amazing that it’s scary.”
Los Angeles County remains the most affected. It is the most populous county by far with more than 11 million people. It has more than 40% of all positive coronavirus cases in the state. Masks are mandatory there, but experts say it’s clear that some people are breaking the rules.
While the county tests tens of thousands of people daily, it takes longer to get an appointment to get a free trial from the county, and getting results also takes too long.
Those who help fuel the spread include people 40 and younger, as they are responsible for more than 50% of new cases, according to the state Department of Health.
The increase is also strongly affecting the Latino community. Latinos are 38.9% of the state’s population, but represent 55% of cases in California, according to the state Department of Health. That may be due in part to the fact that Latinos often live in multi-generational housing, and Latinos make up a large portion of essential workers where there is a greater chance of being exposed to the virus.
“Sometimes it’s mom and dad’s work experience that has put them in touch with her,” Davis said. “And then it goes through the whole family.”
For example, a survey conducted in a strongly Latino population in southeast Los Angeles found that 41% of residents say they continue to work outside of their home.
In the end, the solutions are simple but devastating. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city is on the verge of another closure order, but Rimoin said the state was already there.
“I really don’t see any other option, but for California to shut down right now, to really shut down for a couple of weeks so we can control this virus,” he said.
© KOVR
The increase in cases is especially acute among people under the age of 40, who are responsible for more than 50% of new cases.
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