Madison hospitals reported being ‘dangerously full’

As reported by the Dane County Department of Human Services, the seven-day average of COVID patients hospitalized was 282 in the south-central region of the state as of Dec. 21, over 100 more patients per day than in September, according to a Capital Times report. Madison-area hospitals continue to operate at “dangerously full capacities.” New and old variants of COVID-19 are contributing to the surge in cases, and as of Wednesday, Dec. 29, Dane County hit a record high average of 500 people testing positive for the virus in the last week. Seventy-five percent or more of the hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the Madison area are unvaccinated. An emergency physician and chief quality officer for UW Health noted that if the current trend continued, the system hospitals might not have the space or staff required for the demand. The spike in demand affects more than COVID-19 patients, and access to doctors and beds for heart attack, stroke, or car accident patients is a concern.