[M T]

I'm glad to hear of the wing opening up! That's really good news... but then there's the problem of staffing.

The governor's 19% increase in beds in 3 days is equivalent to an increase by 78 in the number of hospitals. Surely we hadn't built 78 hospitals in 3 days. A wing or two opening up isn't going to explain that many beds.

California announced the release of millions of masks from its reserve more than 2 weeks ago.  I believe the number was 5M of its 21M.   I believe the governor said there were 416 hospitals in California.  That would mean an average of 12,000 N95 masks per hospital.   Surely not enough at all and likely not distributed evenly, but it surprises me that a SoCal hospital is out of masks already, before any large influx of patients.

By the way, for those complaining about the federal response of a few 10s of thousands of masks in some instances in another thread, this is what California said about its stock:

The emergency planning reserves of N95 masks, some of which are past their manufacturer use-by date, have been stored in climate-controlled conditions that preserved the masks’ efficacy. The way the masks have been stored will prevent the degradation of elastic that slips around the ears, a key factor in the CDC and NIOSH’s approval.

These masks are approved for use only in limited, low-risk circumstances, thus relieving pressure on the supply chain of unexpired masks for health care providers caring for confirmed COVID-19 patients and other high-risk situations for infectious diseases.

Also, see this CDC document "Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators"

[M T]

I'm glad to hear of the wing opening up! That's really good news... but then there's the problem of staffing.

The governor's 19% increase in beds in 3 days is equivalent to an increase by 78 in the number of hospitals. Surely we hadn't built 78 hospitals in 3 days. A wing or two opening up isn't going to explain that many beds.

California announced the release of millions of masks from its reserve more than 2 weeks ago.  I believe the number was 5M of its 21M.   I believe the governor said there were 416 hospitals in California.  That would mean an average of 12,000 N95 masks per hospital.   Surely not enough at all and likely not distributed evenly, but it surprises me that a SoCal hospital is out of masks already, before any large influx of patients.

By the way, for those complaining about the federal response of a few 10s of thousands of masks in some instances in another thread, this is what California said about its stock:

The emergency planning reserves of N95 masks, some of which are past their manufacturer use-by date, have been stored in climate-controlled conditions that preserved the masks’ efficacy. The way the masks have been stored will prevent the degradation of elastic that slips around the ears, a key factor in the CDC and NIOSH’s approval.

These masks are approved for use only in limited, low-risk circumstances, thus relieving pressure on the supply chain of unexpired masks for health care providers caring for confirmed COVID-19 patients and other high-risk situations for infectious diseases.

Also, see this CDC document "Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators"