SUNNYVALE — The number of people being treated in California ICUs doubled overnight, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday, as the number of coronavirus cases in the state continues to grow.
During a visit to South Bay fuel cell company Bloom Energy, which has shifted its operations to refurbishing ventilators to treat coronavirus patients, Newsom said 410 people are now in ICUs, up from 200 on Friday. Newsom did not specify whether those were coronavirus patients, or if they had been admitted to ICUs for other reasons.
The number of people who have been hospitalized with the virus has grown by nearly 40 percent, from 746 people Friday to 1,034 Saturday, Newsom said, with thousands more patients who might have COVID-19 awaiting test results.
California has 7,345 ICU beds in total, of which 1,498 are in the Bay Area, according to a recent analysis by Kaiser Health News.
Newsom visited the Bloom Energy facility in Sunnyvale with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Bloom Energy officials say they are working to refurbish hundreds of ventilators from the state’s emergency cache, in hopes of quickly sending them for use in hospitals.
Governor @GavinNewsom tours the @Bloom_Energy warehouse where operations have shifted to fixing ventilators for Californians. #StayHomeSaveLives #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/bSBL3JJ9Qa
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) March 28, 2020
Health officials across the country have warned about the need for ventilators, which are a key tool in treating severe cases of COVID-19.
California has secured 4,252 ventilators, but standing at a press conference in front of a row of Bloom Energy workers, Newsom said the state needs 10,000.
The state has taken delivery of 80 ventilators from Bloom Energy, Newsom said, with another 120 set to be finished Saturday. Those ventilators will then be distributed throughout the state.
Bloom Energy is among some 350 California businesses that have offered to retool their operations to help in the fight against the virus, Newsom said, including clothing companies that have switched to making masks and gowns, or distilleries making hand sanitizer.
“This is exactly the kind of spirit that defines the best of California, the best of the Valley, the best of the American spirit as well,” Newsom said.
Check back for updates.
