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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (1237251)	6/7/2020 4:18:43 PM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1579763

JUST IN: ARIZONA HAS HIT FULL CAPACITY IN ICU BEDS & VENTILATORS AS COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE TO SKYROCKET... verdenews.com Banner hospital official predicts Arizona headed to health crisis Marjorie Bessel, chief clinical officer of Banner Health, warns Friday of the increase in COVID-19 cases since the governor dissolved his stay-at-home order. (Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer) By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services \| azcapmedia Originally Published: June 5, 2020 5:02 p.m. PHOENIX -- The chief clinical officer at the state's largest hospital network said Friday that Arizona is headed to a health crisis if residents don't change their habits to deal with COVID-19. Dr. Marjorie Bessel said the intensive-care units at the Maricopa County hospitals for Banner Health already are at full capacity. And other hospitals in Arizona are rapidly approaching that point. Bessel said that's no surprise, given the increasing number of cases of the coronavirus. The took a big jump Friday, with 1,579 new cases, bringing the tally in Arizona to 24,332. But she parted ways with Gov. Doug Ducey and state Health Director Cara Christ who have said that the increase is largely a factor of more people getting tested. The doctor noted a sharp spike in infections following the decision in the middle of last month by the governor to scrap his stay-at-home order. "We do have community spread of COVID-19 in Arizona and we have had community spread in Arizona,'' she said, with people infecting each other through close contact and not taking precautions. That's not all. "We are seeing an increase in the sickest of the sick,'' she said. "These are COVID-19 patients who are in the ICU who are ventilated,'' Bessel said. "And those individuals are in our hospitals for a long period of time,'' she said. In fact, Bessel provided data showing the number of Banner patients on ventilators has tripled in less than two weeks. Some of what Banner is seeing at its facilities is reflected statewide. The Department of Health Services reports number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 hit a record 1,234 on Friday. And that comes just a day after the figure was only 1,079. And deaths in Arizona from COVID-19 are now at 1,012. So how bad will it get? "I don't have a crystal ball,'' Bessel said. "What I do know is if you continue to follow a curve like that, at some point we will exceed our capacity.'' The most immediate result of all that would be that hospitals will no longer be able to perform elective surgeries. That had been the case until late April. But that was because the governor was worried not about hospital capacity but about the limited supply of masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment. He dissolved that order on May 1. Bessel said while there's a clear correlation between the end of the governor's stay-at-home order and the sharp increase in cases, she was careful not to say that Ducey made a mistake in allowing the directive to expire. "Whenever you're in a pandemic -- and COVID-19 is exemplifying that for all of us -- there is going to be a constant need for balance between economic strife and healthcare strife,'' she said. "They are not mutually exclusive,'' Bessel said. "It's important for people to work so they can put food on the table.'' The doctor also said there was "fatigue'' by people about having to comply with rules about where they can and cannot go. "They wish it would go away,'' she said. "It hasn't gone away,'' Bessel continued. "It isn't going to go away any time soon.'' But she said if the state is easing restrictions on travel and gatherings, "we need to take those other behaviors and need to make sure we're doing them exquisitely.'' She said that's especially true when, as now, there are indications of an upswing in infections. One of those, Bessel said, is increased use of masks when people go out or are within six feet of each other. Bessel said she follows her own advice. She came into Friday's press conference wearing a mask, taking it off only when she was seated at a table at least six feet from reporters. Yet neither Ducey nor state Christ have been wearing masks, not only when speaking to the media but even when they drive to and walk into events together. Ducey has brushed aside repeated questions about his lack of the use of masks, saying he has one if he needs it. And aides to both did not immediately respond Friday to questions about the habits of their bosses. Bessel said those images are crucial to protecting public health. "It's important for us as leaders to lead by example,'' she said. The doctor said that each day the state can get through the pandemic without exceeding hospital capacity is a day closer to having a vaccine or, more likely, at least having some type of effective treatment. But she said that those who think that Arizona's hot weather is going to make a difference are mistaken. "We're not seeing that,'' she said, not only here where the thermometer regularly tops the century mark but in other parts of the world like Brazil which had outbreaks through their summer. She said heat -- and ultraviolet light -- can kill viruses on surface. "But this is a droplet transmitted disease,'' Bessel said. "The way you get it is when you're within six feet of somebody and when you're not wearing a mask.'' And what of surfaces? "That is a lesser type of transmission,'' she said. Along the same lines, Bessel said Arizonans generally should not be worried about handling the mail, that delivery box from Amazon or even the morning paper. "Honestly, you can go read that newspaper,'' she said. "Just bring it in, wash your hands, read the newspaper, wash your hands throughout the day,'' Bessel said. "That's what I do.'' On Twitter: @azcapmedia

To: longnshort who wrote (1237251)	6/7/2020 4:22:38 PM
From: sylvester80	Respond to of 1579763

Arizona's largest health system reaches capacity on ventilators as COVID-19 cases in the state continue to climb Stephanie Innes, Arizona Republic Published 10:39 a.m. MT June 6, 2020 \| Updated 6:02 p.m. MT June 6, 2020 azcentral.com Hospitalizations in Arizona of patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 have hit a new record and the state's largest health system has reached capacity for patients needing external lung machines. Arizona's total identified cases rose to 25,451 on Saturday according to the most recent state figures. That's an increase of 4.4%, since Friday when the state reported 24,332 identified cases and 1,012 deaths. Some experts are saying that Arizona is experiencing a spike in community spread, pointing to indicators that as of Saturday continued to show increases — the number of positive cases, the percent of positive cases and hospitalizations. Also, ventilator and ICU bed use by patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 in Arizona hit record highs on Friday, the latest numbers show. Statewide hospitalizations as of Friday jumped to 1,278 inpatients in Arizona with suspected and confirmed COVID-19, which was a record high since the state began reporting the data on April 9. It was the fifth consecutive day that hospitalizations statewide have eclipsed 1,000. On Saturday morning, officials with Banner Health notified the Arizona centralized COVID-19 surge line that Banner hospitals are unable to take any new patients needing ECMO — extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. ECMO is an an external lung machine that's used if a patient's lungs get so damaged that they don't work, even with the assistance of a ventilator. The Arizona surge line is a 24/7 statewide phone line for hospitals and other providers to call when they have a COVID-19 patient who needs a level of care they can't provide. An electronic system locates available beds and appropriate care, evenly distributing the patients so that no one system or hospital is overwhelmed by patients. Banner Health, which is the state's largest health system, is also nearing its usual ICU bed capacity, officials said Friday and if current trends continue is at risk of exceeding capacity. Banner Health typically has about half of Arizona's suspected and confirmed COVID-19 hospitalized patients. The state's death toll on Saturday was 1,042, with 30 new deaths reported. On Friday, the tally for the first time reached four figures — 1,012 total deaths — three weeks after Gov. Doug Ducey's stay-at-home order expired. As a public service, The Arizona Republic is offering coronavirus coverage relating to public safety free of charge. Support The Republic by subscribing to azcentral.com. What we know about the known deaths, based on the state data: Slightly more than three-quarters of the deaths have been in people 65 years of age or older. Two-thirds were Maricopa or Pima county residents. About 54% were male and 46% female. About 19% of those who died have been Native American. Ducey said at a Thursday news conference that "we mourn every death in the state of Arizona." "... I'm confident that we’ve made the best and most responsible decisions possible, guided by public health, the entire way,” Ducey said. Saturday marked Arizona's fifth consecutive day of high numbers of new coronavirus cases reported, with 1,119 positives reported Saturday, a record 1,579 reported on Friday, 530 on Thursday, 973 on Wednesday and 1,127 new cases reported on Tuesday. Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said at a Thursday news conference that the increase in cases was expected given increased testing and reopening. "As people come back together, we know that there is going to be transmission of COVID-19,” Christ said. "We are seeing an increase in cases, and so we will continue to monitor at this time. But we have to weigh the impacts of the virus versus the impacts of what a stay-at-home order can have on long-term health as well.” Before this week, new cases reported daily have typically been in the several hundreds. The state has reported new cases each day, typically in the several hundreds. The daily increase in case numbers also reflects a lag in obtaining results from the time a test was conducted. Additional deaths are reported each day as well and have varied between single- and double-digit increases. The number of deaths reported each day represents the additional known deaths reported by the Health Department that day, but could have occurred weeks prior and on different days. The date with the most deaths in a single day so far is April 30 with 26 deaths, followed by May 7 with 25 deaths and April 23 and May 8 with 24 deaths each. Next comes April 20 with 23 deaths and April 19, May 3 and May 5 with 22 deaths on each of those days, according to Friday's data, which is likely to change in the days ahead as more deaths are identified. Maricopa County's confirmed case total was at 12,761 on Saturday according to state numbers. "We are seeing some indicators that the number of cases in Maricopa County are starting to rise," county spokesman Ron Coleman said this week in an email. "This is in addition to an increase from increased testing." The number of Arizona cases likely is higher than official numbers because of limits on supplies and available tests, especially in early weeks of the pandemic. The percentage of positive tests per week increased from 5% a month ago to 6% three weeks ago to 9% two weeks ago, and 11% last week. The ideal trend is a decrease in percent of positives tests out of all tests. In addition to an increase in hospitalizations, ventilator use in Arizona by suspected and positive COVID-19 patients statewide jumped to 292 on Friday, which was the highest number reported since the state data began on April 9. Also, ICU bed use by patients with positive and suspected COVID-19 on Friday was 391 — a record high and the 11th consecutive day that the number has been higher than 370. The latest Arizona data As of Saturday morning, the state reported death totals from these counties: 489 in Maricopa, 205 in Pima, 85 in Coconino, 72 in Navajo, 57 in Mohave, 49 in Apache, 41 in Pinal, 24 in Yuma, six in Yavapai, four in Cochise, three in Santa Cruz and three in Gila. La Paz County officials reported two deaths and Graham County reported a second death on Saturday, although the state site listed them as just having fewer than three deaths. Greenlee County reported no deaths. Of the statewide identified cases overall, 47% are men and 53% are women. But men made up a higher percentage of deaths, with 54% of the deaths men and 46% women as of Saturday. Overall, Arizona has 354 cases and 14.49 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to state data. The scope of the outbreak differs by county, with the highest rates in Apache, Navajo, Santa Cruz, Yuma and Coconino counties. Of all confirmed cases, 9% are younger than 20, 42% are aged 20 to 44, 16% are aged 45 to 54, 14% are aged 55 to 64 and 17% are over 65. This aligns with the proportions of testing done for each age range. The state Health Department website said both state and private laboratories have completed a total of 271,646 diagnostic tests for COVID-19, and 109,266 serology, or antibody, tests. Most COVID-19 diagnostic tests come back negative, the state's dashboard shows, with 7.2% positive. For serology tests, 3% have come back positive. Maricopa County’s Department of Public Health provided more detailed information on a total of 12,685 cases Saturday (the state reported the county case total at 12,761): Confirmed cases increased by 1,032 from Friday to Saturday. Deaths increased by nine. The cases are 47% men and 53% women. The majority of COVID-19 deaths in Maricopa County have occurred among long-term care facility residents. 229 long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, and other congregate settings have had at least one resident or staff with COVID-19. People who are 65 years of age and older who have a chronic medical condition are at highest risk for severe disease and death. Cases rise in other counties According to Saturday's state update, Pima County reported 2,950 identified cases. Navajo County reported 2,152 cases, while Yuma County reported 1,850; Apache County 1,692; Coconino County 1,267; Pinal County 1,067; Santa Cruz County 530; Mohave County 485; and Yavapai County 326. La Paz County reported 158 cases, Cochise County 122, Gila County 43, Graham County 39 and Greenlee County nine, according to state numbers. The Navajo Nation reported a total of 5,808 cases and at least 269 confirmed deaths as of Friday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. 237 cases in Arizona prisonsThe Arizona Department of Corrections' online dashboard said 237 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday, up from 198 one day prior. The cases were at these eight facilities: 75 in Florence, 97 in Yuma, 28 in Tucson, 12 in Phoenix, nine in Marana, six in Eyman, six in Perryville, two in Kingman and two in Lewis. Four inmate deaths have been confirmed — two in Florence and two in Tucson, and three deaths are under investigation, the dashboard says. Ninety-nine staff members have self-reported positive for the virus, and 69 have been certified as recovered, the department said. Both legal and nonlegal visitations have been suspended through June 13, at which point the department will reassess. Temporary video visitation will be available to approved visitors and inmates who have visitation privileges, the department announced. Inmates are eligible for one 15-minute video visit per week. CenturyLink also is giving inmates two additional 15-minute calls for free during each week visitation is restricted. Separately, the Maricopa County Jail system as of Friday was reporting 30 inmates who had tested positive for COVID-19, county officials said. That was up from six positive inmates one week prior. Republic reporter Alison Steinbach contributed to this article.