‘Tidal Wave’ of COVID-19 Feared as Alabama Hospitals Fill Up

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – A health official says Alabama hospitals that already are treating a record number of COVID-19 patients are bracing for a “tidal wave” of additional cases linked to holiday gatherings.

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo of the University of Alabama at Birmingham says health care systems could be overwhelmed within two or three weeks. The Alabama Hospital Association says only 11% of the state’s intensive care beds were available Monday. And the remaining spaces could be filled as more patients are admitted than leave hospitals. Nearly 253,000 people in the state have contracted COVID-19 and more than 3,600 have died.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)