Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to increase, South Carolina hospitals face workers and ICU beds shortage, another hospital on the list

Charleston, South Carolina – The latest surge in Covid-19 numbers across the state is causing issues for health care workers and hospitals.

In the last few weeks, numerous hospitals across Palmetto State decided to change their visiting polices in order to prevent the spread of the virus in patients and staff.

However, despite everyone’s efforts, the number are still surging and some hospitals report low or no availability of ICU beds, but the alarming fact is that some are reporting workers shortage too.

The latest hospital that was added on the list facing these two issues is the Roper St. Francis Hospital, according to their spokesperson.

To compensate the workers shortage, some surgeries, even those most urgent, are being postponed, a trend that is also seen is some other states too.

To compensate, some surgeries requiring overnight stays will be postponed. Emergent and urgent overnight surgeries will still be permitted. This will begin August 23 and the hospital expects the postponements to last through September 10.

Roper St. Francis Hospital said that despite the rising number of cases, outpatient and ambulatory surgeries not requiring an overnight stay will proceed as scheduled.

A total of 96 patients with COVID-19 are being cared for at all four Roper St. Francis hospitals, which is 21% of its patient population. The spokesperson also said 22 of those patients are in the Intensive Care Unit and five are on ventilators.

Health officials urge South Carolinians to get vaccinated as soon as possible and prevent the spread of the virus that might result in new, even more dangerous variants of the virus in near future.