Coronavirus: WA Hospitals Lack Beds To Handle Likely Cases
SEATTLE, WA — Hospitals across Washington will be overwhelmed with coronavirus patients in nearly all possible scenarios for infection rates, according to a ProPublica report released Tuesday, using data from the Harvard Global Health Institute.
The report backs up the repeated calls by public health officials to "flatten the curve" — slowing the spread of the virus through social distancing in order to avoid a scenario where more Americans are infected by COVID-19 than can receive care at their local hospital.
But even under "moderate" infection levels, all of the Washington regions modeled by researchers would see an influx of patients far greater than their hospitals are currently equipped to handle, ProPublica found.
The study looked at hospital capacity in referral regions across the U.S. In Washington, it included Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Yakima. Researchers considered different infection levels — 20%, 40%, or 60% of the population — and stretched them over six, 12 and 18-month timelines.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/coronavirus-wa-hospitals-lack-beds-to-handle-likely-cases/ar-BB11n03W?ocid=hplocalnews