SPOKANE, Wash — Spokane Regional Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz is concerned about a rise in hospitalizations as coronavirus cases increase in Spokane County.
"I can't tell you how many Spokane residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, but I can tell you that from yesterday to today, there was an increase of about 10, which is pretty significant," Lutz said in a media briefing on Wednesday morning.
According to data on the SRHD website Wednesday, 45 Spokane County residents are hospitalized with COVID-19. He said capacities can fluctuate day-to-day and that is just one metric in tracking the coronavirus.
KREM has reached out to Providence Health Care and MultiCare about a capacity percentage for its hospitals. A spokesperson for Providence was unable to provide a number on Wednesday and MultiCare has not yet responded.
There is concern about how many beds are available, but the bigger issue is whether hospitals have the staff to support patients.
"If you don't have the staff to support those beds, then that capacity metric is sort of moot," Lutz said. "And I think that's the great concern we have right now."
As for community spread, he said it remains as high as it has been in the past.
"Going into cold weather, the concerns are significant," Lutz said.
He added that what's happening in Kootenai County is also a great concern, as COVID-19 does not recognize geographical borders.
"They have half, a little bit more than half as many cases as Spokane has," Lutz said. "But unfortunately, it's the mindset of our citizenry our collective citizenry in the Inland Northwest, that we don't care at this point, or where it's behind us or we want to go about our lives. In the meantime, all we can do to keep it at arms length is keep people at arms length."