[ad_1]
Sign up for The Guardian’s First Thing newsletter
More than 900 employees at Mayo Clinic, one of the leading research hospitals based in Rochester, Minnesota, contracted Covid-19 in the past two weeks.
At a news conference Tuesday, Dr. Amy Williams, dean of clinical practice at the hospital, said the vast majority of staff who were infected (93%) were not infected at work, according to St Paul Pioneer Press. Most of those who were infected at work contracted the virus while eating without a mask during their breaks, Williams said.
The hundreds of employees who have contracted the virus in the past two weeks make up more than a third of all employees who have been infected since the start of the pandemic. The hospital is experiencing a shortage of 1,000 employees at its Rochester headquarters, according to Pioneer Press.
“It shows you how easy it is to get Covid-19 in the Midwest,” Williams said during a press call. “Our staff are becoming infected primarily due to spread from the community, and this affects our ability to care for patients.”
The hospital did not say whether any of those infected had died from the virus. Lost on the Frontline, a joint effort by The Guardian and Kaiser Health News, is investigating the deaths of 1,396 healthcare workers who appear to have died from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Covid-19 cases have risen across the country as the dreaded winter surge in cases arrives. Yesterday, 161,000 new cases were reported in the US and 76,830 people were reported to be currently hospitalized with the virus across the country.
Minnesota has seen a particularly alarming increase in cases in recent weeks. The seven-day moving average for new cases in the state was 7,402 on Tuesday, the highest in the state, according to Johns Hopkins University. The governor is expected to enact new restrictions on social gatherings and businesses such as bars and restaurants amid the influx.
Williams stressed that hospitals in the Midwest were “really overloaded” and “many are absolutely full.” Mayo Hospital in Rochester has filled the 32 ICU beds it designated for Covid-19 patients. “We have 32 Covid patients who need tertiary care,” that is, sophisticated specialty care, “and that’s not good. It tells us that we are in a wave. ”
