Fewer ICU beds available in Colorado now than during deadly winter COVID surge

Fewer than 200 intensive-care beds were disposable successful Colorado arsenic of Friday morning, meaning the state’s hospitals person little quality to instrumentality caller patients than astatine immoderate constituent during the pandemic.

While the microorganism is portion of the problem, hospitals are besides seeing radical go earnestly sick from putting disconnected attraction past year, and the fig of patients with injuries is backmost to mean levels, said Scott Bookman, the state’s COVID-19 incidental commander.

“The quality betwixt this question and each past waves is that Coloradans person returned to surviving their mean lives,” helium said astatine a quality league Friday.

The authorities had 197 beds successful intensive-care units that weren’t successful usage arsenic of Friday morning, Bookman said. Hospitals person begun converting rooms to service ICU patients, canceling elective procedures and shutting down non-emergency clinics truthful they tin determination unit into overstretched units, helium said.

Statewide, 902 radical were hospitalized for confirmed cases of COVID-19, which is higher than the highest of the archetypal outpouring 2020 wave, Bookman said. At the worst constituent of the past year, successful aboriginal December, the authorities recorded 1,847 confirmed hospitalizations from the virus.

About 81% of the radical hospitalized for COVID-19 aren’t afloat vaccinated, arsenic are 85% of those who’ve died from the microorganism successful caller weeks.

Gov. Jared Polis called connected unvaccinated radical to get the changeable and each Coloradans to deterioration masks successful indoor nationalist places, but indicated helium wouldn’t reinstate immoderate of past year’s restrictions, specified arsenic disguise mandates oregon capableness limits astatine businesses.

He has repeatedly described avoiding overwhelmed hospitals arsenic the state’s “North Star,” and the crushed for the erstwhile regulations.

“The numbers amusement it’s the unvaccinated who endure the most,” helium said. “We’re seeing needless hospitalizations. We’re seeing needless deaths.”

Colorado is successful a amended spot than astir states erstwhile it comes to cases and hospitalizations, which are expanding astatine a slower complaint than successful overmuch of the country, authorities epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said.

“That doesn’t mean we’re immune,” she said. “It’s surely a calamity that we’re continuing to spot these deaths increase.”