Coronavirus Disease Outbreak COVID-19 #56

[EmilyChambers]

I work in a hospital. Capacity is not just the designated covid areas. When they are full then it spills over onto other areas. Plus staff are taken from "less essential" areas. Dual trained midwives were moved from maternity to work in icu. Mensing we were down in numbers. It impacted our services

I never said it didn't impact the services though did I?

I'm just saying be wary when the press run sensationalised stories about hospitals being full as many people interpret that as being literally every bed over to Covid and that's absolutely not correct.

Throughout lockdown, there was very few hospitals in England that had full capacity Covid in ICU or in wards.

Yes staff were drafted in to cover and called out of retirement but it was never as dramatic as the press have portrayed.

Another local hospital said their icu was never even a quarter full. Their Covid wards were opened in March and they shut two of them down by May and mothballed a hundred ventilators because they were never needed and this hospital is also in Birmingham. This was at the same time the press were running that our hospitals In Birmingham were absolutely full.

The QE hit ICU capacity only last month as a result of staff shortages. With that being said, it’s a poor example as many smaller hospitals have only a fraction of that number of ICU beds, in those units, Covid patients will take priority over elective surgical procedures when there’s overspill. Some of what you call “scare stories”, are scary because they’re accurate.

St John’s in Livingston already has a full Covid ward.

According to QE icu for Covid also reduced itself to 50 beds so again, it's not full full, they still have 150 icu beds and can pass over more to Covid if needed, but there literally isn't even 50 people in icu for Covid, at least there wasn't this morning.

Heartlands has 12 Covid icu beds, they are at capacity for icu. They have 60 beds for Covid ward and have 40 beds in use.

Good hope has 6 Covid patients in hospital, none in icu.

Thats just a few examples. Nightingale nec was set up for this purpose to keep the strain off hospitals and was literally mothballed by half and now a quarter and has never been used.

 

[monga]

Houston study: More contagious coronavirus strain now dominates

The first study to analyze the structure of the novel coronavirus from two waves of infection in a major city found that a more contagious strain dominates recent samples, researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital said on Wednesday.

uk.mobile.reuters.com

More contagious coronavirus strain is dominant in Texas's second wave

Houston Methodist Hospital scientists found found that nearly all strains in the second wave had a mutation, known as D614G, which increases the number of infectious 'spikes' the virus has.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Coronavirus news: New strain MORE contagious and better at 'getting around' face masks | World | News | Express.co.uk

A NEW mutation in the deadly coronavirus is more contagious and could even be adapting to 'get around barriers' such as face masks, experts have claimed.

www.express.co.uk

They said more contagious but less deadly

Im sure when pandemic started was 2 strains most America milder strain but said newyork and Europe had more dangerous form.
No idea if British studies done.

But how can such vast numbers at uni get it.
Over 700 at bristol unlikely they were all same halls or classes and thousands Newcastle

Newcastle Uni academic claims 'as many as 10,000 students' could have Covid-19

The figure would be much higher than the already sky-high student infection rate which has helped leave the city on the brink of further restrictions

www.chroniclelive.co.uk

Maybe theres some truth its more contagious which is why masks not making a difference.

Yes they said more potent but no more deadly,,10,000 students wow ! that's a lot,,it could explain why Europe is seeing the massive surge in cases even Merkel is concerned for Germany's numbers.