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St. Louis hospitals reports record highest 7-day average for COVID-19 hospitalizations

St. Louis area COVID-19 hospital admissions increased from 876 Thursday to 878 Friday, the highest it has been since the pandemic began.
Credit: UPI
Dr. Alex Garza, Chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, listens as other doctors speak, during his daily update on the fight against the coronavirus in Earth City, Missouri on Friday, November 13, 2020. Garza warns that if quick action is not taken now, the area hospitals will run out of beds and health care workers. On November 12, 2020, the State of Missouri set a one day record of over 4000 people coming down with the virus, as positivity rates continue to rise. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

The St. Louis area broke another COVID-19 hospitalization record the week of Thanksgiving, according to the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force.

In its daily update, the task force said the region's seven-day moving average of COVID-19 hospital admissions increased from 876 Thursday to 878 Friday, the highest it has been since the pandemic began.

Staffed bed capacity was at 76% Friday across the four major hospital systems that are part of the task force -- BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health, St. Luke’s Hospital. ICUs were at 85% staffed bed capacity.

On Wednesday, Dr. Garza said emergency management officials are in touch with hospitals from St. Louis to Chicago, and they will now have to send St. Louis-area patients to facilities that have space.

Here's the full breakdown of the data for Nov. 27, gathered from the task force hospitals:

  • New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased from 143 to 108.
  • The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased – from 131 to 125.
  • The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations increased – from 876 yesterday to 878 today, a new seven-day moving average record.
  • Inpatient confirmed COVID-19 positive hospitalizations decreased – from 897 yesterday to 896 today.
  • Inpatient suspected COVID-19 positive hospitalizations decreased – from 83 Thursday to 60 Friday.
  • The number of confirmed COVID-19 positive patients in the ICUs decreased – from 195 Thursday to 194 Friday.
  • The number of confirmed COVID-19 positive patients on ventilators decreased – from 124 Thursday to 122 Friday.
  • Across the system hospitals, 74 COVID-19 patients were discharged Thursday, bringing the total number discharged to 10,500.

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