Xe cứu thương ở Alabama không còn chở bệnh nhân đến bệnh viện

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Alabama’s fourth-largest city stopped taking victims of medical emergencies (khẩn cấp y tế) to hospitals (bệnh viện) on Wednesday afternoon because local emergency rooms and intensive care units (điều trị tích cực, hồi sức cấp cứu) were overwhelmed (quá tải) with Covid cases, as the entire state ran out of ICU space.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Our hospital healthcare system is completely overwhelmed and overloaded (quá tải),” Millhouse said, though he believes the delay in ambulance service is “just a temporary thing.” Millhouse said he hopes a combination of more rescue crews coming online and hospitals processing patients in ER waiting rooms should allow for service to resume soon.

KEY BACKGROUND

There are more than 2,700 patients hospitalized in Alabama with Covid-19. That number is below the state’s record of more than 3,000 in January, but many of those being hospitalized are requiring extensive treatment in ICUs, as the delta variant that’s now dominant in the U.S. is leading to more severe infections. Alabama doesn’t provide daily updates on ICU statistics, but Williamson said last week that nearly 700 ICU patients had Covid-19. The state, which has the nation's lowest rate of full vaccination, is near the epicenter of the nation’s Covid hot spots, with fellow southern states like Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi also being hit very hard by the delta variant’s surge.