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Some hospitals in Los Angeles are struggling with oxygen shortages to treat COVID-19 patients, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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COVID patients typically need ten times more oxygen than non-COVID patients, and the pipes of aging hospitals are strained in demand.
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Los Angeles has seen a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases during the holidays, and public health officials are concerned about the city’s ability to handle any further surges.
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At least five hospitals in Los Angeles County declared themselves internal disasters and concerns over oxygen supply forced ambulances to return to other facilities, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Times has reported that many hospitals are facing shortage of oxygen canisters and pipes are breaking in hospitals due to high oxygen levels through the system.
According to the Times, Convid patients typically need about six liters of oxygen per minute, but Convid-19 patients need 60 to 80 liters per minute.
Los Angeles has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions and leave-related deaths. In one hospital, the gift shop and chapel were turned into treatment areas.
As of Monday, Los Angeles had an average of more than 14,000 new cases reported each day in the past week, according to data compiled by The New York Times.
The LA Times added that LA County now has a positivity rate of 17% for Covid-19 tests, four times higher than the county’s positivity rate on Nov. 1.
When it comes to oxygen oxygen, the demand in some hospitals is so high that the system cannot maintain the required pressure. In other cases, the pipes become stagnant due to the high flow of oxygen.
Public health officials and healthcare workers have said they do not see a rapid increase in any time and they are concerned that not everyone in health care systems will have the capacity to treat properly if cases continue to rise.
“All indicators indicate that our situation could only get worse by the beginning of 2021. The rate of community transmission remains extraordinarily high. Hundreds of more people are likely to die as the case continues at this alarmingly high level,” Barbara said. Ferrer, LA County’s director of public health, told the Times.
Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center ICU Physician Dr. Your chambers told Business Insider that the issue is not just limited beds to host patients, but also adequate qualified healthcare personnel to treat all incoming patients.
Chambers said the healthcare workers at its facility have fallen ill with COVID-19, meaning there are fewer staff to care for patients.
“I think we are known as the frontline, but really we are the last line. We rely on public health and safety measures. We rely on people staying at home. We are trying to be the last line and care and and Last level of assistance but we can only do so much, ”the chamber said. “The hospital is just so big, there are only so many workers.”
The chambers encouraged Americans all together to take precautionary measures to avoid hospitals.
“It’s really important that everyone stays at home, maintains social distance, and adheres to all public health measures.”
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