Newsom Says Hospitals Can Handle Surge, Demands Accountability from Counties

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As the state of California, including Sonoma County, see a surge of new coronavirus cases, Governor Gavin Newsom says the state’s hospital capacity is geared up for the challenge of caring for new patients.

Newsom detailed the recent uptick in state coronavirus numbers, including a nearly 30 percent rise in new hospitalizations in the last two weeks, and daily records in number of cases in the past week.

In addition, positive cases as a percentage of total tests were rising across the state, topping in 5% for the first time in weeks. But, with an expanded hospital and ICU capacity statewide, the surge is so far not threatening to overwhelm medical facilities.

As of midweek, California had used just 8 percent of its hospital capacity despite the recent rise in cases needing medical care. As of Wednesday, 4095 patients coronavirus patients were hospitalized in the state. In addition, although ICU admission had grown 18 percent in the last two weeks, the state still has 70 percent of its ICU beds available.

Despite that, Newsom urged Californians to keep their face coverings on anytime they are out of their homes and to resist the urge to gather in groups other than with their own family members. And he said it is too early to know how the recent protests that saw large crowds gather in many California cities may have impacted coronavirus numbers.

The governor said the state would demand accountability and begin to withold state funds from counties that act recklessly and do not follow coronavirus reopening guidelines. And, he was clearly angry at a small segment of the public who have threatened local health officers for restrictions they have imposed as a result of the coronavirus.