Charleston Area Medical Center is coming close to its peak number of covid-related hospitalizations, right before Thanksgiving.
The hospital chain peaked in mid-September with 82 hospitalizations, said CAMC spokesman Dale Witte. In the weeks after that, the number dwindled to about 40 or 50 hospitalizations.
“CAMC has seen a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 inpatients during the past few weeks,” Witte said today.
On Monday, he said, about 67 covid patients were in the hospital.
Today that number shot up to 80.
“The biggest message to the community is to help flatten these occasional spikes by wearing your mask properly, socially distance yourself from others and frequently wash your hands,” Witte said.
Hospitalizations have been going up steadily statewide for weeks.
The state Department of Health and Human Resources coronavirus dashboard shows 463 daily hospitalizations, which is an all-time high.
At the beginning of November, there were just 254 hospitalizations, and at the beginning of October there were 164.
DHHR shows 129 covid patients in intensive care units and 51 on ventilators.
A widely-cited model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, shows West Virginia with 3,032 hospital beds available and 196 ICU beds available.
The state gets its numbers from the West Virginia Hospital Association, which represents medical centers around the state.
Earlier Tuesday, the association told MetroNews the record numbers of hospitalizations aren’t yet straining capacity.
But officials with the association warned that the current surge doesn’t appear to be at its peak yet.
“In recent weeks, it is a little more concerning that it has been,” said Tony Gregory, vice president of legislative affairs for the West Virginia Hospital Association.
MORE: ‘This surge hasn’t peaked yet,’ hospital association official says of state COVID-19 patient demand