That’s about 30% of the total number who have tested positive since March.
“Our employees have become infected largely due to community outbreaks (93% of staff infections), and this affects our ability to care for patients,” Kelly Luxtein wrote to CNN in an email Wednesday.
Around the Midwest, the Mayo Clinic currently has about 1,500 staff members, including work related to Covid-19 exposure or diagnosis.
The Midwest Mayo Clinic system includes clinics, hospitals and other facilities that serve patients in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Midwestern states have been particularly hard hit in the recent round of additional Covid-1 cases – the governor of Minnesota announced new measures this week to help curb the spread, and the governor of Wisconsin declared a new state of emergency.
Like other health care systems, the Mayo Clinic has not escaped the devastating effects of the epidemic.
Employees are mostly exposed and infected with the virus in the community, Williams said. And while some Americans are tired of hearing about safety measures such as wearing masks and washing their hands regularly, this precaution is necessary because the virus spreads across the country.
“We’re doing this because we care about our communities,” Williams said in the update. “We don’t want families to be sick. We don’t want families to lose loved ones. We want everyone to be safe. We will go through this, but we need to be safe, we need to protect each other.”
‘We need your help and we need it now’
Parts of the health system are already overwhelmed by the increase in patients, while what other facilities are preparing to happen.
In northwest Wisconsin, the Mayo Clinic Health System said last week that its 100% hospital beds are full.
“The public urgently needs to be treated with Covid-1 treat, as it is to prevent the health care system from overflowing.”
At the time, about 50% of ICU capacity was occupied by Covid-19 patients, and the system said in a statement that Covid-19 patients who receive treatment in hospital typically live about two to three times longer than non-2. Covid-19 patients.
“While we are temporarily suspending alternative procedures for freeing beds for COVID-19 patients, people need to understand that we care about a population of patients other than COVID patients – we will care for injuries, emergencies and stay open. There is an urgent need for care. “
“We need your help and we need it now.”
Meanwhile, Williams said in a media briefing this week that the Mayo Clinic is increasing its ICU capacity at the hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, to be able to handle the increase in Covid-19 patients.
He added that the system expects to see a surge in hospital admission rates in the next two to four weeks.
In a video update, Williams said he is also seeing more patients transferred from hospitals outside the Mayo Clinic health system.
“Which tells us only elsewhere, in Minnesota, in Iowa, in Dakots, in the hospitals of the surrounding states,” he said. “
CNN’s K. Jones, Adrian Broads and Brad Parks contributed to this report.
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