I had brought this up a while back, and it was reported on by WCCO in MN, but then when brought it up in here, WCCO took out the numbers, and reworded the report so it didnt sound like positive news. This is basically a copy of the original article I read from WCCO when I brought it up. How dare a WCCO journalist make a story with real numbers, I am sure that person was fired, then they reworded the article so it didnt sound like good news.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Although health officials warn that it's too soon for the nation to let down its guard in the fight against the coronavirus, many indicators point to a gradual easing of the pandemic, including a sharp drop in the number of new hospitalizations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that admissions of confirmed COVID-19 patients has fallen by two-thirds since their peak in early January, with the seven-day average dropping from 16,540 on Jan. 9 to 5,490 on March 2. The latter figure was nearly 15 percent lower than the week before.
Still, the pressure on hospital capacity has not disappeared, federal figures show.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which has been tracking the effect of COVID-19 on hospital capacity since early in the pandemic, releases data each week on tens of thousands of hospitals nationwide showing how close they are to reaching their limit. The latest data for hospitals in Hennepin County includes how many adult inpatient and ICU beds are occupied by patients confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19.
The new numbers, included below, are current through Thursday, March 4, and represent a rolling seven-day average. Note that the figures for occupied hospital beds sometimes exceed 100 percent; this is because more than one patient sometimes occupies a bed over the course of a week.
Health experts have said that the share of a hospital's total beds devoted to coronavirus cases is key to understanding the strain on its resources. A share greater than 10 percent is said to be a cause of concern. When that share exceeds 20 percent, a hospital is said to be under extreme stress; and as the share approaches 50 percent, the stress is said to be immense.
Also this week, state health officials in Minnesota
reported to the federal government that 73 percent of inpatient beds and 72 percent of ICU beds in hospitals across the state were still occupied as of March 6. Around 3 percent of beds statewide were filled by COVID-19 patients, they reported.