California is closing in on 30,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic as hospitals scramble to find beds for severely ill patients during a continuing spike in COVID-19 case numbers. The state reported 468 deaths on Sunday, a day after setting a record one-day total of 695, according to the Department of Public Health. California’s death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to 29,701.
Meanwhile, hospitalizations are nearly 22,000, and state models project that number could reach 30,000 by February 1. A surge of cases following Halloween and Thanksgiving produced record hospitalizations in California, and now the most seriously ill of those patients are dying in unprecedented numbers. Officials fear another surge in coming days connected to gatherings during Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations. Already, many hospitals are struggling to keep up and warn they may need to ration care as intensive care beds dwindle.
San Bernardino County had 4.4% ICU capacity Friday.
“The speed with which we are reaching grim milestones of COVID-19 deaths and cases is a devastating reflection of the immense spread that is occurring across the state,” said one public health official, “And this accelerated spread reflects the many unsafe actions individuals took over the holidays.”
