As COVID-19 cases continue to spike around the country, the number of people hospitalized with the novel virus is also setting new heights.
On Wednesday, the United States set a new record for daily confirmed cases of coronavirus. According to the Washington Post, more than 104,000 new infections were tallied, the most since the start of the pandemic.
In addition, 17 states, including Kansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Oklahoma, Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana and West Virginia, reported a record number of hospitalizations, the outlet noted.
Officials in Iowa have warned that if the spread of the virus isn’t curtailed their hospitals will become completely overwhelmed.
“We are again in danger of losing control of this pandemic in Iowa,” said Suresh Gunasekaran, chief executive of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, per the Post. “Our COVID positivity rates skyrocketed twice before, but this is the first time we have seen rates this high while also dealing with record patient hospitalizations.”
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Gunasekaran is especially alarmed with the virus overlapping with flu season and possibly exacerbating the number of hospitalizations.
“The infection rate is definitely a leading indicator for hospitalizations, and the hospitalization rate is a leading indicator of mortality,” the medical expert told Today.
The sentiment is shared in multiple other states, especially in places like Nebraska where hospitalization rates have recently doubled.
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"No doubt if this trend continues — not just at our hospitals — but every hospital in the state could be at capacity in a very short period of time,” added Dr. Cary Ward, chief medical officer for CHI Health.
Since the start of the pandemic, the U.S. has reported more than 9,445,000 positive cases of coronavirus, with at least 232, 5000 fatalities, according to John Hopkins University.
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