Ramsey County public health director says hospitals are near capacity

Ramsey County Public Health Director Kathy Hedin told members of the St. Paul City Council Budget Committee last Thursday current COVID-19 cases are pushing hospitals in the county to their limits.

So far 11,527 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in Minnesota, and nearly one-third of those patients were admitted to the hospital since the start of October.

“Capacity is becoming thin and there is definitely a challenge to handle the rise in COVID cases,” Hedin said. “We know of somebody within our residential systems who was having problems breathing and was sent to the hospital and the hospital sent them back because they don’t have beds, and that was at Regions Hospital.”

Hedin stopped short of calling for tighter social distancing restrictions similar to the "stay-at-home" order issued by Gov. Tim Walz in March, but she said more needs to be done as Ramsey County and the rest of the state grapple with record-setting COVID-19 cases.

“This is where my public answer will get me into trouble with the economic answer,” Hedin said. “But the fact is what happened in March kept people at home and kept the COVID rate low —and I am not suggesting that is where you go with this — but through the public health lens, we need to be doing something to keep people away from each other.”

Hedin said the supplies of personal protective equipment, or PPE, appear to be solid right now, but if coronavirus cases were to continue at their current rate and hospitalizations follow suit, things surrounding the PPE supply chain could change.

“I think we are doing well with PPE supplies throughout the county, but I know hospitals and clinics are watching it closely,” Hedin said. “But, you know, as our cases continue to go up and those (PPE) get utilized more quickly we will kind of see how that goes.”