COVID-19 hospitalizations are trending upward in the Triad, according to new data released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The state reports 258 people are hospitalized at facilities in a 16-county Triad region as of Monday, the second-highest number among eight defined regions across the state. Only Charlotte-area hospitals reported more.
But, the Triad still has the capacity to treat more patients. The area has more staffed inpatient hospital beds than any other region. Right now, about 70 percent of them are occupied. And, about 25 percent of staffed ICU beds are empty.
At a press conference last week, Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said though hospitals are not currently overwhelmed, things could change quickly.
“I think what you are seeing in other states, whether it's Florida or Texas or Arizona, is that hospitals are running out of capacity," said Cohen. "There are many hospitals who are now on divert, which means they are not taking any new patients. We don't want to get into that situation.”
Some information is still missing from the newly-released NCDHHS data. So far, only 96 percent of hospitals in the Triad Healthcare Preparedness Coalition have reported their numbers to the state.
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