Another sad milestone: Record number of ICU patients

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press

Missouri hospitals are filling to the brim with COVID-19 patients, and so are their intensive care units, which are treating a record number of patients. Information posted Friday on the state health department’s coronavirus dashboard shows 2,318 people hospitalized with the virus, 50 more than a day earlier and the highest number in seven months. Also concerning is the seriousness of their illnesses: 689 COVID-19 patients are in Missouri intensive care units, the most since the pandemic began, topping 685 ICU patients on Dec. 23. The state says 384 people are on ventilators. ICU capacity is down to 15% statewide, and inpatient bed capacity is at 16%.