GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — We are in the midst of a troubling surge in COVID-19 cases, enough that there are concerns about our local health care system's ability to care for everyone, especially if they should require hospitalization.
Spectrum Health West Michigan President Darryl Elmouchi said the number of patients and the positivity rate are far higher than anything we've seen in West Michigan since the pandemic began.
Dr. Elmouchi said our largest one-day number of COVID inpatients in the spring was 86. Our number on Tuesday, October 26, was 157. According to Spectrum Health records, throughout most of the pandemic the positivity rate for testing was between 1-2 percent.
Now the positivity rate is more than 9 percent.
Elmouchi said, taken together, these numbers indicate we may be at the base of what might be a very tall peak. He said we MUST stay the course and keep doing the things that have kept us safe throughout the summer.
That includes hand washing, mask wearing, sanitizing, social distancing, and limiting gatherings. Elmouchi said he's optimistic that if everyone can just buckle down, we can avoid another lockdown.
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