Watch: California Gov. Gavin Newsom gives coronavirus hospital update Monday
.JPG "Gov. Gavin Newsom discuses California’s efforts to convert hotels and motels into isolation housing for the homeless threatened by the coronavirus during a news conference at a hotel in West Sacramento on April 3, 2020. Newsom spoke about the partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover some costs.")
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday provided an update on his administration’s efforts to secure tens of thousands more hospital beds the state prepares for the continued spread of the novel coronavirus. You can watch a recording of the livestream here or click on the video below.
Newsom’s team projects California will need 50,000 more hospital beds and 10,000 more ventilators for what he calls “Phase One” of the coronavirus surge. That represents a massive scaling up of the state’s hospital capacity, which had 75,000 beds before the state began responding to the pandemic.
But by mid-May, the state’s modeling predicts the virus spread will overwhelm even the expanded capacity, Newsom said last week.
In the next phase of the outbreak, state officials said Wednesday the need will grow to 66,000 additional hospital beds, roughly 40 percent for patients needing intensive care.
The state’s stay-at-home order bought California time to prepare, Newsom has said.
National numbers released by President Donald Trump’s administration show the state is doing better than others at preventing the spread of infection. The Trump administration is projecting this week will see a peak in coronavirus deaths in hotspots including New York, Detroit and Louisiana.
Modeling shown during Newsom’s daily coronavirus briefings last week shows the number of infections in California growing further into the future. Newsom on Friday declined to answer questions about how the state’s modeling differs from others and when the state would hit the peak number of infections, saying only that the numbers would “begin to peak” in May.
Already, California hospitals are treating nearly 2,400 coronavirus patients and an additional 3,100 people suspected of having the virus, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
To accommodate the escalating number of COVID-19 patients, the Newsom administration is also seeking more health care workers. More than 70,000 people have already signed up for the California Health Corps established last week, Newsom said. That includes doctors and nurses who have stopped practicing or want to expand their practice, as well as medical students close to finishing their degrees.
Overall, 319 people with the coronavirus have died in California, according to the Department of Public Health. Experts say official COVID-19 death tolls are undercounting people because of limited testing, according to reporting by The Washington Post.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 11:52 AM.