1 In 3 Ohio ICU Patients Have Coronavirus

COLUMBUS, OH — As of Thursday, more than 1,200 Ohioans were in intensive care units (ICUs) because of COVID-19.

There are 5,142 patients in Ohio hospitals with COVID-19. Of those, 1,204 are in ICUs. Nearly 400 Ohioans entered hospitals for COVID-19 care on Thursday.

"We're in a really difficult spot here, and we're just now heading into the most challenging 3 months of this pandemic," said Dr. Andrew Thomas of the Wexner Medical Center. He said the current pace of new cases and hospitalizations is not sustainable.

One of out of every three ICU patients in Ohio has COVID-19. That number is even higher in rural hospitals, Thomas said.

These spikes in hospitalizations come before the state sees a spike from Thanksgiving gatherings.

"We still haven't seen the impact of Thanksgiving in our hospital numbers. Usually, people are admitted a week after they're diagnosed. This is not the beginning of the end. This is not even the end of the beginning," Thomas said.

Dr. Nora Colburn, an infectious disease expert at Wexner Medical Center, said hospitals are starting to ration care because of shortages of beds and staff.

"The bottom line is - non-COVID patients are being crowded out of the system and won't be able to get the care they need to stay healthy. We all must do our part to stop the spread of the virus," she said.

Doctors and nurses are facing difficult questions about bed capacity, how long surgeries will have to wait for care and how to care for all patients, said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, the chief medical officer for the state health department.

"We need to stay apart," Vanderhoff said. "We have to stay home, unless we're going to work or the grocery store. When we do go out, we must wear a mask, every time, all the time."