Suddenness still applies if it continues to come in waves like Omicron. If the waves are spaced far enough apart, the extra capacity is hard/expensive to plan f

Suddenness still applies if it continues to come in waves like Omicron. If the waves are spaced far enough apart, the extra capacity is hard/expensive to plan for. Omicron came very suddenly after a long period of little activity (and is already leaving almost as fast in much of the US). Importantly, COVID can make hospital staff sick, which is one way it takes up capacity. I'd read that in the hospitals that hit capacity issues during Omicron, they wouldn't have had any capacity problems if staff weren't sick from Omicron. So, the capacity challenge is having enough personnel slack to cover the suddenness, which seems harder than handling equipment/room capacity issues. That said, I agree with your points and we need clear answers to those questions.