BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County has set a new high in coronavirus-related hospitalizations. As of Monday, Erie County is reporting 258 hospitalizations because of COVID-19.
"We should all be discouraged," Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said after announcing the latest numbers in his Wednesday press conference.
Poloncarz said hospital admissions exceeded discharges for the last three days of data. On April 27, there were 44 new admissions compared to 25 discharges.
"We're headed in the wrong direction, folks," Poloncarz said. "This is only because of community spread...These are people catching it from other people in the community. This is happening because people are going around and catching it from someone else. I don't know if these are essential workers on the frontlines. I don't know if these are individuals hanging out at the parks. It's quite apparent that people aren't following the guidelines because people are getting sick. It's disappointing to see."
Erie County has seen a rise in total number of hospitalizations each day since April 24.
There are 3,224 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Erie County and 247 deaths.
Erie County hospitals cannot conduct elective surgeries under the order of New York State. This is because of the rise in hospitalizations, though Poloncarz said that ICU numbers have largely stabalized and Erie County has more than the 30 percent minimum of ICU beds available.
"We're not going to be able to open any time soon," Poloncarz said. "I think people need to understand that. That's going to be one of the keys: Can we control the spread of the coronavirus such that our hospitals don't get inundated."
