Hospital executives in California are sounding alarms on their inpatient capacity as COVID-19 hospitalizations surge in the state, according to ABC News.
As of Dec. 23, California is among the eight states where the virus is spreading quickest. On Dec. 22, the state saw one of its biggest jumps in one-day COVID-19 hospitalizations, with an additional 653 patients admitted to hospitals.
Officials from Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco-based Dignity Health and Sacramento-based Sutter Health said during a Dec. 22 news conference that they are facing capacity issues. In some cases, COVID-19 patients are being treated in hallways, gift shops and conference rooms.
Greg Adams, the chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, said during the conference, "We simply will not be able to keep up if the COVID surge continues to increase. We're at or near capacity everywhere."
Many hospital officials said Thanksgiving gatherings contributed to the surge. The executives urged Californians to not gather for Christmas and New Year's.