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Ohio Hospitals Concerned About Capacity, Staffing With Delta Surge

Karen Kasler

Hospital leaders from around Ohio say the surge of COVID-19's Delta variant is leading to concerns about capacity and staffing. They say the loss of staff underscores the pandemic fatigue.  

Hospital leaders say they're running out of available beds with a statewide 10-fold increase in COVID patients in the last two months.

Beyond capacity issues, Dr. Robert Wyllie chief medical operations officer at the Cleveland Clinic, says hospitals are also seeing a drop-off in staff.

Wyllie: "Under the tedium of a year and a half of infection and dealing with these very, very sick patients in the ICU and watching fatalities at a fairly rapid rate."

When asked if the state might recommend a new health order to address the pandemic, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said the state is keeping the message of personal choice while urging people to wear masks and get vaccinated.