On Thursday, a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of North Carolina expressed concern about the statewide increase in mortality due to the COVID-19 Delta variant, and said: “There are many deaths, this is the new normal.”
“We are definitely taking care of some of the most seriously ill patients in the hospital. At first, it was terrible. Now, this is just my normal routine,” Kat Phillips, a surgical ICU nurse at the University of North Carolina Medical Center, told WRAL. “I think we are in crisis mode. Nurses feel it. The hospital feels it. Other patients feel it too.”
According to WRAL News, about a quarter of hospitalized patients in North Carolina are hospitalized due to COVID, and 39% of the patients are treated in the intensive care unit.
According to news media reports, Phillips said: “Just in my work in the past few weeks, I lost two patients I cared for.” “This is a lot of deaths, and I think this is the new normal-there are a lot of deaths here. “
Philips said that during the entire pandemic, compared with the previous wave of COVID, the patients in this wave of virus are sicker and younger. According to Philips, many patients are placed on ventilators, dialysis and heart-lung bypass machines to help them maintain internal body functions while fighting COVID.
According to WRAL News, the increase in cases has exhausted the hospital’s medical staff. ICU staff work in shifts every 12 hours, and overtime if necessary. ICU staff said that currently, only 40% of COVID patients treated in the surgical ICU can defeat the virus.
According to WRAL News, Phillips said: “This is exhausting and also frustrating because we have a vaccine that can prevent this disease.” “Obviously, this will not prevent you from contracting the virus, but it can prevent you from being saved. Life and make the last effort.”
According to WRAL News, on Thursday, 11 COVID patients were treated in the surgical ICU at the UNC Medical Center, and another 13 patients were treated in the medical ICU and pediatric ICU.
According to the news media, “children will be infected with COVID-19,” said Benny Joyner, the head of pediatric medical care. “Children can put a breathing tube in their throat and contract COVID. Children may have long-term consequences from COVID. Children will be affected by COVID.”
UNC Medical Center did not immediately respond Weekly newspaper solicit opinions.
Large-scale COVID clusters in children North Carolina ReportOn Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reported 73 active clusters of K-12 schools across the state, a 62% increase from last week.
North Carolina also reported 38 childcare facility clusters, an increase of 3% from last week.
The state reported 5,351 new COVID cases on Tuesday, of which 3,612 were hospitalized.
According to NCDHHS data, 65% of adults in North Carolina received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, and 60% of them were fully vaccinated.
Photograph taken by APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images
