WA state hospitals ‘remarkably strained’ by COVID-19 community spread, officials say

Washington hospital officials warned Monday that facilities are heading toward the bad old days with COVID-19 cases peaking and high spread in the community.

This go-around, while patients are not as sick as they’ve been in previous surges, the caseload is impacting not just those seeking COVID care but, as in previous waves, those seeking treatments for other health emergencies.

“I’m sorry to say that we are back here today to talk to you about COVID ... because we really would like to not have to talk about COVID,” said Cassie Sauer, Washington State Hospital Association CEO.

“At the end of last week, we reached almost 600 COVID cases in our hospitals across the state,” Sauer noted, with another 75 suspected cases not yet confirmed, with about 20-25 patients a day on ventilators. That compares with an average of around 230 hospitalized cases in the daily census in April, and 1,700 in February during the Omicron wave.

Given the rising hospitalized cases, officials on the media briefing call Monday implored people to return to wearing high-quality masks indoors in crowded, public spaces, and to keep up with COVID booster shots on top of vaccinations.