Hospital stays push state’s ICUs to a record low

California’s hospital capacity dwindled yet again ahead of Christmas Day as the state navigated an overwhelming load of coronavirus infections and more patients than ever required care.

More than 19,300 people were hospitalized with the virus, according to the California Department of Public Health, an increase of 400 patients since the start of the week. Available space in intensive- care units across the state has dropped to 1.1% from 1.4%, while the Bay Area’s availability has decreased to 11.4% from 13.5%. Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley are at full capacity.

In total, just 1,373 ICU beds are available statewide.

T he hospita lization crunch comes amid the pandemic’s worst surge so far. On Wednesday, the state surpassed 2 million coronavirus cases just six weeks after hitting 1 million. Cases have leveled off slightly after an alltime high of more than 61,000 was reported Monday; the seven-day average is 44,329 cases as of Thursday, according to data compiled by this news organization. Another 352 deaths raised the seven-day death average to about 251.

Those numbers dwarf California’s previous summer surge, when the state saw a seven- day average of about 9,856 daily cases in mid-July and a high of about 145 deaths in early August. The pace has been relentless: Since the start of December, the seven- day infection average has ballooned twice over, jumping from about 14,000 cases on Dec. 1st to nearly 25,000 a week later and adding more than 10,000 cases weekly since.

California’s test positivity rate has likewise steadily climbed, a contrast to the months it trailed national trends. As the U. S.’s test positivity rate has leveled to

about 11% over the last few weeks, California’s has increased to about 13% before dipping over just the past two days, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine coronavirus tracker.

Still, the state is faring slightly better than several of its neighbors and other populous states. Texas’s test positivity rate is nearly 18%, while Nevada’s is about 16% and Arizona’s nearly 14%.

Southern California continued to account for the bulk of new cases Wednesday, with the top five counties of Los Angeles, San Bernadino, Riverside, Orange and San Diego contributing about 35% of the day’s 44,361 cases. Los Angeles alone — the state’s most populous county and a longtime epicenter of the virus — reported 137 of the state’s 352 deaths, or about 38%.

Although the Bay Area continues to hold out more hospital capacity than the Valley and Southern California, local health officials have taken to pleading with residents to stay home during the holidays to avoid another holiday surge. With just 35 intensive care unit beds left for a county of about 2 million, Santa Clara County’s hospital system is “about to be pushed over,” said Dr. Ahmad Kamal, director of health care preparedness, in a Wednesday briefing.

The county is home to the most cases and deaths across the 10- county Bay Area. On Wednesday, officials reported nearly 1,300 new cases and 17 of the region’s 44 latest deaths.

“Pick up your phone right now. Cancel any gathering with people who do not live with you,” Kamal said. “Please. I implore you.”

Texas’s test positivity rate is nearly 18%, while Nevada’s is about 16% and Arizona’s nearly 14%.