DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa continued to break COVID-19 hospitalization rate records Wednesday, and both rural and urban doctors agree: Iowa is on a dangerous path.
"This is a scary trajectory to be on," said Dr. Megan Srinivas, an infectious disease specialist from Fort Dodge.
As of Wednesday evening, nearly 120,000 Iowans have tested positive for the virus.
The state's website says nearly 600 Iowans are currently hospitalized with the virus.
The latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report for Iowa dated Oct. 25 said all indicators of community spread are increasing, including the number of positives in long-term care facilities and hospitalization rates.
"I'm afraid it's gonna get worse instead of better in the near future, especially going to winter," Dr. Brian Mehlhaus said.
Mehlhaus, who works at the Boone County Hospital, said he wouldn't be surprised if some stronger mitigation efforts are reinstated.
"We may have to go back to the point of eliminating elective procedures, again, in order to have the space to care for the COVID surge," Mehlhaus said. "We may have to get to the point where we cut back on hip replacements, knee replacements, elective gallbladder removals, other surgeries in order to provide ICU rooms. Hopefully, that does not happen, but I think the public needs to be aware that is a possibility once again."
In Des Moines, Dr. Austin Baeth with UnityPoint Health said people need to fight COVID fatigue, no matter how hard it may be.
"Remember back to how cautious we were in March and April when this pandemic started, and remember that it's way, way worse now," Baeth said.
Central Iowa hospitals are inching closer to capacity, according to Baeth.
He said if hospitals reach their capacity, rural centers won't be able to transfer patients who need higher levels of care.
"If we don't have our own beds to take care of them, I don't know where they're going to go," Baeth said.
Srinivas said something needs to change, especially since flu season is creeping closer.
"That's when we're really going to badly need these beds. And starting already with such a filled capacity leaves us with very little room to grow," Srinivas said.
Wednesday, 34% of Iowa's hospital beds were available.
"The state is in regular, often daily, contact with health systems, hospitals and the regional medical coordination centers (RMCCs) to assess hospital capacity, staffing and resources," Alex Carfrae, who handles COVID-19 communications for Iowa's Department of Public Health, said in an email Wednesday. "At this time, hospitals are reporting that they are able to manage the increased number of patients, and are prepared to implement surge plans to expand capacity if necessary. Facilities and health systems within RMMC regions and statewide are working together to coordinate staffing and patient care needs when a hospital requests assistance."
Carfrae said 11% of all current hospitalizations are related to COVID-19 in Iowa. Of those hospitalized, 70% are over the age of 60.
Data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows Iowa typically has more than 40% of beds open.
Gov. Kim Reynolds and other state health officials haven't held a press conference to answer questions on the pandemic since Oct. 7.
In the past, she has been adamant about not shutting down the entire state again. She has said she's willing to take needed steps if the data shows targeted closures are required.