Doctors Say Statewide Surge In Coronavirus Cases Could Swamp St. Louis Hospitals

Hospitals in the St. Louis region are treating more coronavirus patients from outlying counties, health officials said Friday.

That means local health systems are bearing the burden of the virus’s spread in rural areas, doctors said. The increase in patients from outstate regions is putting a strain on metro health care systems, which are regularly seeing more than 50 new admissions a day, a rate officials call “unsustainable.”

“What’s going on in those rural areas is going to affect the urban areas,” said Dr. Alex Garza, head of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. “That’s where the bulk of the health care is consumed.”

That has hospital officials concerned as case numbers begin to climb again in St. Louis and St. Louis County. The St. Louis bistate region saw a 16% increase in case numbers in the past week, and the rate of hospital admissions among people from St. Louis and St. Louis County is beginning to go up again.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2020-10-23/hospital-capacity?