Mono County COVID-19 News and Updates: March 25
Mammoth Hospital accepting equipment donations, Harvard Medical School propose committee to help doctors make difficult decisions
Mammoth Hospital accepting equipment donations, Harvard Medical School proposes committee to help doctors make difficult decisions, Mono and Inyo county positive results
By Monica Prelle
Two more COVID-19 positive test results were confirmed in Mono County on Wednesday morning, four total in the county; Inyo County reported its first confirmed cornoavirus postive test today.
The critically ill Mammoth resident who was transferred to Reno has no known connection to other patients and is unable to be interviewed because of his condition, according to Mono County Public Health. The fourth positive case showed no symptoms, but was tested because of contact with the first confirmed case. An additional patient was transferred to Reno on Tuesday and another was hospitalized in Mammoth, both with test results pending.
The accelerating numbers of positve cornovirus cases are in line with projections that Mammoth Hospital released over the weekend. Even so, Dr. Boo warns that results “poorly reflect the extent of the virus’ spread.” Data is incomplete beacuse lab results are slow; testing is still limited and only aavailable for patients requiring hospitalization.
“If social distancing does not work, if we continue to see accelerating COVID-19 numbers in coming weeks, we anticipate potentially serious impacts on Mammoth Hospital,” Mono County Public Health Officer Dr. Boo wrote in a statement.
More than 500 patients could be infected by the end of April, according to Mammoth Hospital projections. The hospital continues to work intensively to prepare for such possibility.
“Like everyone else around the country, we will run out of some of the most utilized personal protective equipment at some point,” Mammoth Hospital Communications Manager Ehren Goetz said. “For this reason, we have been taking the necessary precautions in making sure that doesn’t happen.”
The hospital is accepting donations of N95 masks or surgical masks, unopened boxes of nitrile gloves, oxygen tanks and concentrators, and unused vacuum cleaner bags, and recruiting volunteers to make scrubs, masks and other items currently in short supply. More information on the community hospital drive is available online.
“Our hope is that we have enough people practicing social distancing and staying at home that we see these patients over the course of several months rather than several weeks,” Goetz said. “If our community can flatten the curve, we have a much higher chance of keeping those critical supplies we need in order to serve our patients and keep all of our staff safe.”
In the U.S. there will be anywhere from 1.4 to 31 critically ill patients per ventilator depending on the scope of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The authors from Harvard Medical School propose setting up a committee to decide which critically ill patients get ventilators, so doctors don’t have to choose among patients.
“Reports from Italy describe physicians ‘weeping in the hospital hallways because of the choices they were going to have to make,’ ” the authors wrote. “The angst that clinicians may experience when asked to withdraw ventilators for reasons not related to the welfare of their patients should not be underestimated — it may lead to debilitating and disabling distress for some clinicians.”
The Harvard Medical Shcool authors are proposing a triage committee so “physicians and nurses caring for the patients to maintain their traditional roles as fiduciary advocates” and to “ensure consistent and unbiased decisions across patient groups.”
It is “truly terrifying,” New York Times health and science reporter Karen Weintraub wrote on Twitter.
The state of California recently secured a presidential Major Disaster Declaration, $1.1 billion in federal aid, to supplement the ongoing effort to expand hospital surge capacity and acquire much-needed personal protective equipment.
Using projection models based on international data, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that the state needs 50,000 more hospital beds, more than twice as much as he previously projected. To get there, he expects the state’s 416 hospitals to increase surge capacity by 40%, which will add 30,000 beds.
Additionally, three new hospitals were acquired in Northern California, Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the state is working to utilize space outside of the health care system including university dorms, convention centers, and hotels.
The U.S. Navy hospital ship Mercy, which is based in San Diego, will be deployed within the week and stationed at the Port of Los Angeles. According to LA Times reporting, the hospital ship will not take COVID-19 patients, but will to take other patients in an attempt relieve pressure on the hospital system.
Gov. Newsom said earlier this week that the state will likely remain closed and shelter in place through April, at least, in a stark contrast to what the president recently said. Ultimately, governors will decide when states lift stay at home measures. California was the first state to issue a stay at home directive last Thursday and now nearly half of U.S states have ordered residents to shelter in place.
“We are looking at the next eight weeks on our curve,” Gov. Newsom said. “Maybe the next eight to 12 weeks, to address this surge and again, do it in a thoughtful and pragmatic way.”
New York continues to be the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic. A few days ago, cases were doubling every two days, but the rate has slowed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in press conference today.
“This is a very good sign and a positive sign,” Gov. Cuomo said. “Again, not 100 percent sure it holds, or it’s accurate, but the arrows are headed in the right direction.”
According to John Hopkins University data the U.S. has 65,778 total cases of the coronavirus and 935 deaths. California has the third highest number of positive cases in the U.S., behind New York and New Jersey. As of Wednesday evening, there are 2,872 confirmed cases and 60 deaths in California.
Mono County is currently reporting four positive cases, 28 negative, 28 tests pending; a total of 60 tests have been administered. Inyo County is currently reporting one positive case, 24 negative, 35 tests pending, and 60 total tests administered.
Another virtual Mono County community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. Nearly 800 people logged in last week. This will be an ongiong weekly meeting. Residents can join the meeting online or call (669) 900–6833 and enter Webinar ID# 901 775 658 to listen.
In addition to the Mono County coronavirus response informational webpage, the county now also has an information phone line 2–1–1, which is in English and Spanish.
Watch: Mammoth Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Burrows explains coronavirus testing in Mono County.
Monica Prelle is Mammoth Lakes-based freelance journalist.