Overwhelmed, short-staffed hospitals are asking Minnesotans to avoid emergency rooms for nonemergency care or COVID testing
| Jan. 7, 2022 The post-holidays COVID-19 surge continues to whack Minnesota as the state averages more than 5,000 new cases a day. Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told reporters Friday that the omicron variant is spreading “like wildfire” here and across the country and “we just need to expect that it’s going to be the norm for us in coming weeks.” While omicron appears to cause less severe illness, Malcolm said it remains a danger to the unvaccinated and medically vulnerable.
The Minnesota Hospital Association begged people not to come to emergency rooms seeking COVID tests or other nonemergency care, noting a “high volume” of patients driving up wait times for medical emergencies at several hospitals.
“We have run out of words to describe what we are undergoing — a crisis does not even come close,” the group said, adding, “hospitals are literally full … ICUs are full, emergency departments are full, medical-surgical units are full, hallways are full and surgeries are being canceled.”
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