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Part of that is having the hospital capacity for seasonal flu and accident victims. We're prepared for that. Coronavirus adding more cases will soon overwhelm h
by chillacy 7y ago
Part of that is having the hospital capacity for seasonal flu and accident victims. We're prepared for that. Coronavirus adding more cases will soon overwhelm hospitals in major US cities, at which point they will have to start triaging patients like they are in Italy.
Presumably if this became the new norm then we would up our hospital capacity to match and then re-adjust our life expectancy numbers as well.
- dekhn 7y agowe don't have the hospital capacity for seasonal flu victims.
- chillacy 7y agoBy capacity I mean during flu season we don't run out of hospital beds when people with serious flu complications need them. By that definition then "not having capacity" means that people who go to the ER have to get turned away based on medical triaging.
- dekhn 7y agoHospitals often have to set up tents in parking lots to deal with flu cases when the influx is much higher than average. We don't provision for peak flu; we provision for something less than the flu average.
- vkou 7y agoYes, we do. In the typical flu season, everyone who needs a hospital bed can get one. Flu season happens every year, we have planned and prepared for it. We have not prepared for the load that COVID places on our resources.