Also Read | A year on, China is shaking up the worldAcross the nation, the surge of coronavirus cases is crowding large metro hospitals with Covid-19 patients, pushing occupancy against the limits of space and overwhelming nurses and doctors.
More than 40% to 60% of ICU patients in some metro areas are critically ill from Covid-19, according to an analysis of federal data by the University of Minnesota Hospitalization Tracking Project.The crisis is a public-health threat that reaches far beyond major cities, say doctors, nurses, public officials and experts in health-care policy.
The biggest hospitals in major metro areas often have specialists and lifesaving equipment lacking at smaller regional hospitals.