Long Beach Medical Center. Courtesy photo.

Long Beach health officials worry hospitals could soon reach capacity if people continue to flout health orders.

As Los Angeles county hospitals see a spike in hospitalizations—about 1,900—Long Beach has about 80 people currently hospitalized, according to city health officials. Current capacity is at about 60%, but Mayor Robert Garcia said at a Thursday community briefing that leaders at St. Mary Medical Center and Memorial Hospital are worried that could change to 80% quickly.

“They specifically said in the last two days, they have seen more people start coming into the hospital that are both symptomatic, that are testing positive for COVID,” Mayor Robert Garcia said at a Thursday community briefing.

The city has seen 736 new cases reported to officials since Monday and Long Beach’s positivity rate is at 10.8% and is increasing, Garcia said. Long Beach is averaging about 130 new cases each day, whereas in mid-May, the city averaged about 40 new cases, he said. Despite the increase in positive cases, hospitalizations and fatalities are still relatively stable.

A total of 134 people have died from COVID-19 in the city.

“The hospitalization number hasn’t spiked,” Garcia said. “There isn’t this strain yet on room, but they are getting more people.”

He noted that about 30% of the city’s supply of ventilators are currently in use.

This echoes what local trauma surgeon Dr. Mauricio Heilbron from St. Mary’s Medical Center said in a Wednesday live interview with the Post. He said some intensive care unit modules dedicated to COVID patients are full.

“The wave isn’t over, there’s been no break, no lull, if one goes home, one comes in,” Heilbron said. “It’s a continuing process, it’s a steady stream.”

Garcia also noted that Community Hospital will still possibly open with a 100-bed capacity, but the operators are still waiting on a state licensing agreement. That agreement is being held up by a final check from the state health department, according to Garcia.

Dr. Anissa Davis, Long Beach’s health officer, urged residents to stay home this holiday weekend and to avoid spending time with people outside their households and to wear their face coverings, which have shown to reduce transmission of the virus.

Valerie Osier is the Social Media & Newsletter Manager for the Long Beach Post. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ValerieOsier