Military medical teams are deploying into eight hospitals in California to relieve overworked staff dealing with the surge in coronavirus cases. The Los Angeles Times reports that Air Force medical teams have arrived at two hospitals in San Joaquin and Riverside Counties. The two hospitals had enough beds but not enough people to staff them, highlighting a growing problem across the state as coronavirus hospitalizations reach record levels. In Rancho Mirage in Riverside County, Eisenhower Health Chief Medical Officer Alan Williamson said the hospital is at 80% bed capacity but was “virtually 100% of our staffing capacity.”
San Joaquin County’s seven hospitals were at 71% capacity on July 15, but 121% capacity in their intensive care units. A team of 20 doctors, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists and nurses arrived from Travis Air Force base, according to Marissa Matta, spokeswoman for the San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services.
The surge in COVID-19 cases across the southern tier of the U.S. is also creating problems for the military because there are numerous military bases in the areas, such as in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida, where the virus is surging. Military Times reported yesterday that coronavirus cases within the military are up 20% just in the past week, to 20,212 (not including civilian employees, family members and contractors which bring the total to over 29,000), including 11,791 active cases. The infection rate has also about doubled compared to what it was in April, to 0.9%. From the first soldier diagnosed in South Korea at the end of February, it took until early June for the military to see 10,000 cases. The next 10,000 cases took six weeks. One result is that numerous military installations have reinstated travel restrictions that had earlier been lifted as local conditions eased.
