Researchers: North Dakota has adequate hospital bed capacity for virus; 171 deaths anticipated

Projections from University of Washington researchers suggest that North Dakota is well-positioned with hospital beds to accommodate coronavirus patients over the next four months.

Despite the availability of beds, the model indicates that 171 residents will die over the four-month time period from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The research from the school’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that the peak demand on hospital resources in North Dakota will fall on May 1.

Gov. Doug Burgum said at a press conference Monday that he was familiar with the institute’s research and called it “directionally correct” relative to other, less-reliable modeling that various states have used to predict the spread of the virus. But, he said, 171 deaths “is not acceptable to us” and “we do not want to be on that path.”

Read more: https://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/researchers-north-dakota-has-adequate-hospital-bed-capacity-for-virus/article_40824dd8-3b8c-553a-ab3a-bf92b63990a2.html