Puget Sound-area hospitals still under strain as Omicron cases plateau
The Puget Sound region appears to be through the worst of the latest wave of Covid-19, as hospitalizations and Omicron cases tick downward.
That's according to the Seattle-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which said Covid-19 cases likely peaked in mid-January at 150,000 infections a day statewide. Demand for hospital beds crested about a week later on Jan. 23.
Despite the plateau, Covid activity remains at a record high, and local hospitals are still under immense strain from the virus as they continue to treat record levels of sick patients. At the same time, hospitals continue to deal with staffing shortages and an expected influx of patients who've had care postponed.
At Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, where about 200 Covid patients are being treated, between 40 and 50 nurses are out sick with Covid on a given day, Dr. George Diaz, an infectious disease expert at Providence Everett, told reporters Tuesday.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2022/01/26/omicron-peak-hospital-stress.html
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