St. Cloud Hospital Busy But Not at Capacity [PODCAST]

CentraCare Spokesman Dr. George Morris joined me on WJON today.  He says all of their locations within CentraCare are stressed and are seeing increases in Covid-19 positive cases in their facilities including St. Cloud Hospital.  He says they have added 14 ICU beds at St. Cloud Hospital out of need and can add more if need be.  Morris says despite the increase they are not at capacity and can still handle emergency needs that aren't Covid-19 related.  He says the increase hasn't gotten to a point where they need to use non-typical locations to house Covid-19 patients like the Rivers Edge Convention Center or dorms at St. Cloud State. Listen to the conversation below.

Dr. Morris says the positive test rate continues to be on the rise in our communities and is currently at 14%.  He says the rate includes those who were tested because of symptoms, contact with some with a positive test and those without cause for a test.  The amount of people hospitalized at St. Cloud Hospital with Covid-19 is double the amount at their previous peak back in May.  Dr. Morris says as much as they can they are separating Covid-19 patients from the rest of the hospitalized population. He says they do have influenza patients at the hospital but the numbers are in the single digits.

Morris says mask wearing and social distancing is still the best way to avoid spread of the virus.

Dr. Morris joins me Fridays at 8:15 - 8:50 a.m. on WJON.