Here’s How Full Hospitals In Iredell County Are

MOORESVILLE, NC — Even as vaccines begin rolling out to health care workers and offer a powerful tool to fight the pandemic, coronavirus case numbers and hospitalizations continue to hit record highs across the U.S.

The latest hospitalization data shows that at least 100,000 Americans or more have near consistently been in the hospital for coronavirus in December. In North Carolina, hospitalizations have steadily increased daily. As of Sunday, Dec. 27, at least 3,123 state residents were receiving medial care for the virus.

In December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began reporting hospital capacity data at the facility level, which several have used to determine the percentage of hospital beds occupied across the country.

The latest data for Dec. 28 shows how full hospital and ICU beds are in Iredell County, according to the analysis of HHS data by University of Minnesota Hospitalization Tracking Project:

• Hospital Beds: 25.4 percent occupied
• ICU Beds: 59.4 percent occupied

The HHS data compiled by the University of Minnesota are calculated at the facility level and averaged for each county. Here’s how the model developed by the university measures percentage of hospital and ICU beds occupied by coronavirus patients.

• Percentage of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients = Seven-day average of total adult and pediatric patients confirmed or suspected/Seven-day average of staffed inpatient beds
• Percentage of ICU beds occupied by coronavirus patients = Seven-day average of total adult ICU confirmed/Seven-day average of staffed ICU adult beds

Community spread of the virus continues to surge throughout Iredell County. As of Dec. 23, at least 180 new cases were reported in the span of a day, increasing the county's tally of known cases to 8,581. At least 60 county residents were hospitalized, and 103 deaths attributed to the virus, according to the Iredell County Health Department.

SEE ALSO:

• 645 Iredell Students In Quarantine for Possible COVID-19 Contact
• COVID-19 Hospitalizations Surge To More Than 3,000 In NC