Colorado Hospitals, Overwhelmed With Coronavirus Cases, Can Turn Patients Away

U.S.|Colorado hospitals are astir afloat arsenic the authorities battles a increasing caseload.

• Nov. 3, 2021Updated 3:18 p.m. ET

Colorado is experiencing its worst coronavirus question successful a twelvemonth and its overwhelmed hospitals are present allowed to crook distant caller patients.

An enforcement order, signed connected Sunday by Gov. Jared Polis, allowed hospitals to redirect incoming patients. Many aesculapian facilities person reported being implicit 90 percent capacity, with terrible staffing shortages.

Covid hospitalizations successful Colorado person accrued 14 percent successful the past 2 weeks. The state’s caller regular cases person besides accrued 14 percent successful 2 weeks, and precocious reached their highest level since their highest successful November 2020, according to a New York Times database.

Hospitals successful Larimer County, wherever vaccine hesitancy is fueling a surge, are utilizing 110 percent of their I.C.U. beds, according to the section wellness department. That has forced immoderate patients to treble up successful rooms, and hospitals successful the country are adjacent to turning patients distant to prioritize emergencies, Tom Gonzales, nationalist wellness manager for Larimer, told CBS Denver.

At slightest 62 percent of the authorities is afloat vaccinated, supra the nationalist mean of 58 percent. Most hospitalized Covid patients are unvaccinated.

At UCHealth, 1 of the state’s biggest wellness systems, 76 percent of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 are unvaccinated, and implicit 86 percent of Covid-19 patients who are successful request of a ventilator and are successful intensive attraction are unvaccinated.Masks successful the authorities are optional and restaurants are mostly moving astatine afloat capacity; Mr. Polis, the governor, is reluctant to revive statewide restrictions.

The governor’s enforcement bid coincided with a authorities mandate that required health attraction workers to beryllium afloat vaccinated against Covid by Oct. 31. More than 90 percent of Colorado’s infirmary workers person present been afloat vaccinated, according to the state’s wellness department.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged residents of high-transmission areas to wear masks successful nationalist indoor spaces, careless of their vaccination status, citing grounds that vaccinated Americans with breakthrough infections tin transportation arsenic overmuch coronavirus arsenic unvaccinated radical do.

Other adjacent states, similar Arizona, are besides enduring surges. New regular cases are rising faster successful Arizona than immoderate different state, up 50 percent implicit 2 weeks.