‘Occupancy is virtually 100%’: Just one available ICU bed in all of Snohomish County
Jan 18, 2022, 3:09 PM
EMTs transfer a patient out of the acute care COVID unit. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
As of Tuesday morning, there is only one intensive care bed available in all of Snohomish County.
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Snohomish County Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters says that while COVID-19 cases are beginning to decrease, hospitalizations have lagged behind that curve and are still on the rise. That has just 26 regular care beds available in the entire county in addition to one ICU bed.
“Occupancy is virtually 100%,” he said .
Spitters says that Snohomish County’s COVID hospitalizations — which account for roughly 30% of total patients right now — are expected to increase for at least two more weeks. The omicron variant accounts for an estimated 222 current hospitalizations in the county, “almost double the prior peak.”
Medical centers statewide say the difficulty discharging patients to long term care has been a contributing factor to high patient numbers, in addition to record levels of COVID-19 cases throughout January.
Similar trends have played out in King County, where COVID-19 cases have fallen 20% over the seven-day period ending on Jan. 14, with hospitalizations rising by 20% over that same period.
