Coronavirus: India and United States

Hospitals in Wisconsin, Texas under strain as Covid-19 infections surge

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centre El Paso has put up tents in its parking lot to cope with the number of Covid-19 patients. The state has the largest rise in US hospitalisations. PHOTO: NYTIMES
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Centre El Paso has put up tents in its parking lot to cope with the number of Covid-19 patients. PHOTO: NYTIMES

NEW YORK • UW Health University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, has been rushing to convert available space into units for Covid-19 patients, as the state's medical facilities struggle to keep pace with a surge in new cases.

As part of the effort, the medical centre opened a new intensive care unit (ICU) this week ahead of schedule, and it is quickly filling with coronavirus patients.

"Today, we have more patients than we've had ever before," said Dr Jeff Pothof, an emergency medicine physician at UW Health.

"It's putting a strain on our capacity. Our biggest concern is ICU staffing."

Wisconsin, a hotly contested battleground state in next week's presidential election, is one of 36 states in the US where coronavirus hospitalisations are rising by at least 10 per cent compared with the previous week, according to a Reuters analysis.

"We are at another critical point in the pandemic response," Admiral Brett Giroir, an assistant US health secretary, told NBC's Today show.

"Cases are going up in most states across the country."

More than 44,000 coronavirus patients were in hospitals on Tuesday, the highest number since Aug 15 and up 40 per cent this month.

The nation reported over 74,000 new cases on Tuesday and nearly 1,000 deaths.

The largest increase in US hospitalisations was in Texas, which reported almost 1,000 new Covid-19 hospitalisations on Tuesday, up 20 per cent from a week ago.

With a surge in cases overwhelming local hospitals, the Texas city of El Paso has converted a convention centre into a field hospital to treat the overflow.

Twelve states in the US set records for hospitalised Covid-19 patients on Tuesday: Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

In Wisconsin, which broke one-day state records for cases and deaths on Tuesday, state officials asked residents to quarantine voluntarily when possible, wear masks and cancel social gatherings with more than five people.

"There's no way to sugarcoat it: We are facing an urgent crisis and there is an imminent risk to you, your family members, your friends, your neighbours and the people you care about," Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said.

Despite the worsening pandemic and facing criticism that he is prioritising his re-election above the health of his supporters, President Donald Trump pushed ahead on Wednesday with mass rallies in the final stretch of his campaign.

Vice-President Mike Pence was also due to campaign in Wisconsin on Wednesday after members of his inner circle tested positive for the virus in recent days.

Mr Pence himself has tested negative for the virus and the Trump campaign said it was taking all necessary precautions to ensure safety at the event.

The number of new Covid-19 cases in the United States has risen 25 per cent in the past week to nearly half a million, while the number of tests performed rose 6 per cent, according to the Reuters analysis.

Adm Giroir emphasised that the spike can be controlled with mitigation efforts, including wearing masks and social distancing.

"If we don't do those things, it may force local officials and government officials in states to have more draconian measures because cases will go up if we don't make a change," he warned.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 30, 2020, with the headline Hospitals in Wisconsin, Texas under strain as Covid-19 infections surge. Subscribe