COVID surges as hospitalized patients are highest so far this year

[KSTP-TV News, November 10, 2021] Hospitals in the metro say they are "extremely full" and extra COVID-19 admissions are pushing them to "almost peak capacity."

"The demand for hospital beds right now is as high as I've ever seen. This is probably as challenging as we have seen through this entire epidemic," said Dr. Ryan Else, Allina Health's vice president and clinical officer. "We oftentimes pair a patient that is being discharged from the hospital to then giving that bed immediately to a patient that needs acute care in our hospitals."

Minnesota's COVID-19 Response Capacity Dashboard shows only 42 ICU beds are available across the state. Less than 2% of ICU beds are currently open in the metro.