California has recorded more than 2 million cases of the coronavirus as of Thursday morning.
That includes nearly 20,000 people currently in the hospital, and available ICU beds at a minuscule 1.1 percent for the state.
And despite pleas from health officials to refrain from travel, Californians are eager to celebrate the holiday season with family and friends. Now healthcare workers fear a worse calamity in the coming weeks.
“We are talking about people in gurneys without a bed to go to,” said Dr. Ahmad Kamal, Director of healthcare preparedness in Santa Clara County.
Dr. Kamal said he’s expecting conditions to become much worse.
“We are talking about people not getting hospital care,” Kamal said. “We are talking about rationing what scarce resources our exhausted health system has left.”
Health leaders and elected leaders pleaded with Californians to cancel travel plans for the holidays.
Compared to most years, major airports in the Bay Area are far from crowded due to recent travel restrictions. But they are also far from empty, even with a state COVID-19 positivity rate climbing above 13 percent.
