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Long Beach Activates Mass Fatality Plan
A tent is placed last week outside the Dignity Health-St. Mary Medical Center to triage an influx of Long Beach patients. (Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images)
With morgues in Long Beach nearing capacity, the city's health department has activated its mass fatality plan, as deaths from COVID-19 continue to mount.
Long Beach saw its two worst days for COVID-19 fatalities yesterday and Monday.
Meanwhile, daily cases in Long Beach have exploded over the past six weeks by more than 1,000%.
And, like the rest of L.A. County, that's also translating into more hospitalizations, as officials report an over 200% increase in admissions for COVID-19 patients since Thanksgiving.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia joined the call from other city leaders and health officials urging people to skip traditional Christmas and New Year's celebrations:
"What we're heading towards is a catastrophic event at our hospitals. And the only people that have the ability to stop this catastrophic event are each of us individually, that have to make the right decision and make the right choices."
MORE ON PANDEMIC TRENDS
- Doctors treat patients in hallways, ambulances as Long Beach hospitals begin to overflow (Long Beach Post)
- Coronavirus Pandemic: The Grim Reality Of Where Things Stand In SoCal Heading Into The Holidays (LAist)
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