TOPSHOT – Registered nurse Yeni Sandoval wears personal protective equipment (PPE) while she cares for a Covid-19 patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, California on January 3, 2021. – Approximately four weeks ago, the hospital had a very manageable census, and very small amounts of patients in the ICU, but since Thanksgiving it seems like the census has been doubling every 10 days and they’ve gotten to a point where 80% of the hospital is filled with patients with Covid-19, and 90% of the ICU is now filled with Covid-19. According to doctor Yadegar, it’s not just a matter of room, but it’s also the staffing to have nurses, as well as doctors to be able to take care of those patients. It’s very difficult to get critical care nurses and doctors. So, it’s hard to expand, even if we can expand with the number of beds in the rooms it’s impossible to expand in terms of nurses and doctors because there’s limited resources. The situation is very dire. The hospital systems are at a breaking point unless we were able to get this infection under control. It’s not sustainable. Unfortunately, the emergency room is having to close and not be able to take patients that are coming in with ambulances because we don’t have room for them, and at this point this is impacting not just what happens in the hospital but it affects everyone in the community. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP) (Photo by APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images)
California’s coronavirus death toll has topped 26,500 and confirmed cases have neared 2.4 million since the pandemic began, health officials said.
The state’s swamped hospitals held 20,690 COVID-19 patients, including more than 4,500 in intensive care units, the Department of Public Health said Sunday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday was scheduled to provide further updates on the situation facing California, where authorities have warned of a potential huge surge in cases due to travel and gatherings for the December holidays and New Year’s.
In hard-hit Los Angeles County, the total COVID-19 death toll has reached 10,773 and confirmed cases topped 818,000. The county reported more than 7,500 people hospitalized, including 21% in ICUs.
Amid the surge, one Los Angeles suburb has reversed course and closed outdoor seating areas on public property where people could eat takeout from restaurants that are only allowed to serve to-go or delivery orders.
Manhattan Beach ordered tables and chairs removed from the areas late Sunday, citing a near-doubling of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city from 425 on Nov. 1 to 821, it said in a statement Saturday.
The seating areas were built on platforms in city streets when restaurants were banned from serving people indoors but were allowed to do so outdoors.
California
As the number of infections increased, Los Angeles County health authorities banned restaurants from serving outdoor diners, but Manhattan Beach allowed people to use those same seating areas while technically meeting the county restrictions.
Mayor Suzanne Hadley said in a statement that the recent spike is significant and the closure order was a response to “the ever-changing dynamics of this pandemic.”
In light of the crisis, organizations representing actors, commercial advertisers, advertising agencies and independent film and television producers recommended a hold on in-person production in Southern California.
The hold would last until mid-January, according to a Sunday night statement by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Joint Policy Committee, which represents commercial advertisers and ad agencies.
In a separate statement, leaders of the Producers Guild of America urged everyone shooting in Southern California “to delay production until the county health officials indicate it’s safe to resume.”
Major studios are already on a production hiatus until the middle of this month.
