Oregon hospitals nearing capacity amid rise in respiratory virus cases

SALEM, Ore. – Some health officials are calling it a ‘triple-demic.’

The flu, RSV and COVID are all surfacing in the community.

On Thursday, the Oregon Health Authority shared just how dire the situation is for hospitals across the state.

The OHA said hospitals across the state are running out of beds.

As the spread of respiratory viruses continues in Oregon and around the country.

The OHA says although cases of RSV have begun to decline from their peak, influenza cases are continuing to skyrocket.

They also said COVID-19 hospitalizations are increasing every week.

The uptick in respiratory virus cases has resulted in many people looking for over-the-counter medicines with many pharmacies having empty shelves.

According to the OHA, many hospitals are getting closer to their bed capacity, like never before.

“Today more hospitals are reaching a crisis in their adult bed capacity just as our hospitals move to crisis care standards in the past two weeks,” OHA spokesperson Dean Sidelinger said. “The combination of surging flu, RSV and COVID-19 cases are pushing hospitals past their current icu bed capacity which never happened during our darkest days of the covid-19 pandemic in Oregon.”

The OHA is recommending people wear masks in crowded areas this winter.

On Wednesday, Governor Kate Brown issued an executive order, that gives hospitals the flexibility to make sure it has enough staff to meet the demand of patients.

In our region, Providence health tells NBC5 that they are experiencing much of what the rest of the state is seeing with hospitalizations.

Asante says they will give an update in the coming days.

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NBC5 News reporter Zachary Larsen grew up in Surprise, Arizona. He graduated from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. At ASU, Zack interned at Arizona Sports 98.7FM and Softball America. During his Junior year, Zack joined the ASU Sports Bureau. He covered the Fiesta Bowl, the Phoenix Open and major basketball tournaments. Zack enjoys working out, creative writing, music, and rooting for his ASU Sun Devils.
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