The state of California has become a major driver of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
On New Year’s Eve, 585 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state, making up more than one-seventh of the deaths from the virus reported in the United States that day. More than 2.4 million people, in a state of 39 million, were arrested, and nearly 39,000 more were confirmed Sunday.
In Los Angeles, San Diego, and throughout Southern and Central California Valley, hospital intensive care units have run out of space completely. On Jan. 1, more than 20,000 people were hospitalized across the state, compared to the height of the spike on July 8 with only 800 hospitalized.
The flood of coronavirus cases has exposed the unprepared, unprepared health care system in the country’s richest state. The Los Angeles Times reports that “hospitals are scrambling to find staff” and that there is a “harmful shortage in oxygen tanks. The paper refers to Christina Ghaly, Los Angeles County’s director of health services, who described non-COVID outpatient services as a “skeletal team. She said the county was on the brink of disaster.
Ambulances in Los Angeles county are waiting up to eight hours to have their patients discharged at hospitals, according to Cathy Chidester, director of Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services. In some cases, ambulances are being redirected, or patients may have been sent home directly.
A nurse in Southern California sent the World Socialist Website picture of a cooling semi-truck that had just arrived at the hospital they work east of Los Angeles. Hospitals and mortuaries across the state are issuing rental orders for similar units to treat the ascending casualties as they cross the health care system.
Continental Funeral Home in Los Angeles ABC 7 news that he and every other known funeral home is beyond their ability to handle bodies. The owner reports removing bodies at six o’clock their normal rate.
A Southern California nurse spoke to the WSWS about how staff shortages are a matter of urgency in the growing disaster.
“We are stretched so narrowly, the more patients we care for the less we can safely take care, ”she said. Continuing, “I hate to say it but when you are tired you may be missing things, doctors may be missing things. ”
“The other morning, I had three deaths before 9am and my movement started at 6 in the morning… We recently had a 25-year-old man who died and was obese. He was crying and was afraid to go inside. He was a little boy. His heart took him out and he died. Another nurse was holding her hand because his mother wasn’t there. ”
“Now that you’re doing everything you can, you’re heavy on things, but after hearing [another patient] doing better I sat in the car and cried for an hour. It doesn’t mean she’s still out of the woods but after so many deaths, we reap those benefits. ”
A major outbreak of the virus is among the tens of thousands of homeless people living in Los Angeles. In the fall, cases were recorded among homeless people at 60 a week in the city. It has gone up from last week to almost 550 a week. The Rev. Fr. Andrew Bales, director of the Union Rescue Mission, joined the Los Angeles Times, “Every ski resort and many groups / missions are hot spots. They are all horrible. ”
Because of the delay between disease and symptoms, the impact of Christmas and New Year’s activities and onset purchases only includes hospitals. Because of these, epidemiologists predict that January could be significantly more fatal than December.
Dr. Brad Spellberg, chief medical officer at the University of South Los Angeles County Medical Center, warned CNN of a “complete collapse of the health care system” if case numbers continue to rise.
Because of the inadequacy of medical services, including medical staff, emergency medical workers have gone to various parts of the state. Army Chief Engineers are now deployed to Los Angeles County to supplement the area’s adequate oxygen supply. In the Central region, a poorer area with agriculture, 1200 emergency medical workers were deployed last week to treat patients as a hospital from pandemics more than doubling in several counties last month. .
In statements made over the weekend, Los Angeles Democratic mayor Eric Garcetti tried to put the blame on the pandemic, saying, “It is so necessary for change. we our behavior. Everyone is doing something but everyone can do more. ” The hypocrisy of this statement is remarkable. In Los Angeles, large malls are open, with thousands of people inside. Factories are open. The film industry is open.
Garcetti, along with other California Democrats, has tried to blame the pandemic on workers and small business owners, while insisting that key jobs remain for money. make it open across the state. Lock-up measures that do nothing to stop the major public spread of the virus, while leaving employees and small business owners penniless, are hypocritical and completely inappropriate to stop the virus.
Last Wednesday, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom even announced plans to reopen California schools, which include a major financial incentive, $ 450 per student, for school districts undergoing reopening. Such financial incentives could put pressure on officials to reduce infection numbers as they have in Florida.