Huntington Hospital Experiencing Increase of COVID-19 Patients

[Updated]  An uptick in local Coronavirus cases has led to an increase in COVID-19 patients at Huntington Hospital.

Currently, there are 52 people hospitalized at Huntington Hospital battling the virus, up from 27 patients on May 28 when the number of Coronavirus patients at the hospital seemed to be declining.

“On June 9, we had 19 positive COVID-19 patients hospitalized. With the recent re-opening of society and increased gatherings, we have experienced an anticipated uptick in COVID-19 positive patients,” said Dorey Huston, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Media at Huntington Hospital.

The hospitals highest patient count was 79 on April 29, according to Huston.

The recent uptick coincides with rising local cases.

From June 16 to June 23, 123 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths were reported in Pasadena.

“In Pasadena, as expected with the reopening of our economy, we have seen an increase in the number of daily cases over just the past four or five days,’’ Dr. Ying-Ying Goh, the city’s director of public health, told the City Council during her weekly update on the COVID-19 pandemic’s local implications.

“I wouldn’t call it a trend quite yet, but we are watching it very closely.

“This increase has been driven by community transmission,’’ she added. “We have seen the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases increase from seven to 10 per day during the first two weeks of June to about nine to 17 this past week.’’

The increase in cases is not just local.

According to NPR, as of Sunday, June 21 the state had 3,702 hospitalized patients with confirmed cases of the Coronavirus. NPR reported 1,199 patients were in intensive care, and an additional 1,102 hospitalized patients were suspected of having the virus.

The California Department of Public Health said 5,019 new lab-confirmed novel coronavirus cases were reported on Monday, a new single day record.

Despite the increase in cases locally and across the state, city officials are scheduled to close an emergency facility at the Convention Center where 250 beds were placed in case of Huntington Hospital reaches capacity.

“The Convention Center will be taken down this week,” said Lisa Derderian, the city’s Public Information Officer. “There has been an increase in younger community cases and that can be attributed to more opening up, protests or dense living conditions where it’s a challenge to isolate.  Regardless, maintaining strong personal hygiene, washing hands frequently, wearing face covering, physical distancing, staying home if sick and avoiding mass crowds is vital to help stop the spread!”

According to Derderian, younger residents often are not returning calls regarding contact tracing.

“It’s vital people who test positive cooperate and communicate with our Health representatives who have a vested interest in ensuring the health and welfare of our community,” she said.