US: Florida hospitals face oxygen crisis, morgues ‘out of space’ as Covid cases surge
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FILE | A medevac helicopter takes off from a pad at Baptist Heart Health Hospital
Florida Oxygen shortage: The US state of Flordia is witnessing a major crisis as Covid cases have shot up drastically over the last week. The surge is coronavirus cases has led to severe oxygen shortage in hospitals across Florida. Reports also said that funeral homes are running out of space for bodies in the state.
According to New York Times data, Florida has reported 227 Covid deaths a day on an average this week.
A survey by published by Florida Hospital Association, published on Wednesday, said that 68 hospitals in the state have oxygen supplies of fewer than 48 hours. Oxygen demand has skyrocketed in the region with the rapid spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus, Newsweek reported.
Similar situation is being witnessed in Kentucky and Texas as the US states have joined growing list of regions are seeing record number of Covid hospitalizations is overwhelming doctors and nurses and afflicting more children. Intensive care units around the nation are packed with patients extremely ill with the coronavirus, news agency AP reported.
“I don’t think we have experienced this much critical illness in folks, so many people sick at the same time,” Dr. Jyotir Mehta, medical director of the ICU at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Georgia said.
At least five other states — Arkansas, Louisiana, Hawaii, Mississippi and Oregon — have already broken their hospitalization records.
Nationwide, COVID-19 deaths are running at more than 1,100 a day, the highest level since mid-March, and new cases per day are averaging over 152,000, turning the clock back to the end of January, AP reported.
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