The state of New York, in the United States, has ordered a total of 40 hospitals to reject non-essential and non-urgent surgeries for the next two weeks due to the low capacity of beds due to the increase in coronavirus infections.
This measure has been taken based on the fact that the state Department of Health has included the locations of these hospitals in the list of ‘high-risk regions’, since 90 percent of their beds are occupied.
“We will use all available tools to help ensure that hospitals can handle the sudden increase in COVID-19 (infections),” said Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett.
In addition, she has reminded New Yorkers that getting vaccinated and inoculating booster doses is “the best way to protect against serious illness and hospitalizations from COVID-19.”
“Vaccination also protects our hospital system. We cannot go back to the first months of the pandemic when hospitals were collapsed,” she claimed.
The 40 hospitals that have been ordered are located in three regions – Mohawk Valley, Finger Lakers and Central New York – located in the upstate.
The state of New York has registered more than 90,100 new infections and more than 150 deaths in the last day. In addition, the omicron variant, more contagious than others, represents 94 percent of infections in the state between December 24 and January 6, as detailed by the Governor’s Office.
