Marin has become the first Bay Area county to run out of staffed ICU bed capacity entirely.
As of Tuesday evening, all 29 ICU beds were full; 12 of those patients were sick with COVID-19.
Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s public health officer, says the countyâs three hospitals are starting to bring surge ICU beds online. Hospitals have surge capacity up to twice the number of normal ICU beds. Currently, elective surgeries are still taking place, and the number of patients overseen by each nurse has not increased.
But Willis says the level of care might begin to erode as surge measures are implemented. He urged people to continue to wear masks and stay home.
“Itâs not that thereâs no room at the end,” said Willis. “We do have beds. We are reaching the limit of our normal operations,and weâre starting to have to do special things to try and increase our capacity under surge. ”
Marin County has previously reached 0% ICU capacity during bad flu seasons.
Copyright 2020 KQED