San Francisco Could Run Out Of ICU Beds On Christmas

Image: quinn.anya via Flickr

The dreaded post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 outbreak is upon us, and it is poised to create a terrifying and untenable citation for sick San Franciscans when the next holiday is upn us. The LA Times reports that at today’s daily coronavirus press conference, SF Department of Public Health director said that if infections keep up at their current rate, San Francisco will run out of hospital beds in just 17 days. 

Today is December 9. If that 17-day warning holds true, the city will run out of intensive care unit beds by December 26, the day after Christmas.

“To be blunt, we have one chance to turn this serious surge around, and that chance is right now,” Colfax said today. “But our window is narrowing and closing fast.”

Where we stand now, San Francisco has lost 164 people to COVID-19. Colfax said the models show that it is “plausible” that another 1,500 San Franciscans could die from coronavirus. 

We know people are upset at Mayor Breed’s latest stay-at-home orders and the effect they have on small businesses. But imagine the trauma this city will go through if we run out of hospital beds while people are still sick and dying.

“That is if things don’t get worse,” Colfax added. “And they very well may.”