Five of Mississippi's largest hospitals ran out of intensive care unit beds July 9 amid a major surge of COVID-19 cases in the state, reports the Jackson Free Press.
Four other hospitals in the state reported at least 95 percent ICU capacity, and three had less than 10 percent of beds available.
"Our biggest medical institutions who take care of our sickest patients have no room," state health officer Thomas Dobbs, MD, said during a July 9 briefing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. The medical center is the state's only level 1 trauma center.
LouAnn Woodward, MD, the medical center's vice chancellor, said it has been forced to transfer patients, hold them in the emergency room or turn away patients coming from other hospitals.
"Many days we have had more patients than we have rooms," she said during the briefing.
The Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed 703 new COVID-19 cases July 9. The state also reported a record 686 hospitalizations involving confirmed cases and 255 involving suspected infections.