Fewer than, not less than :-) <— grammar nazi ...
But I’d find it much more informative to know percent ICU beds occupied and length of stay/ turnover of rooms.
Raw numbers are just a scare tactic.
OK, now I will go back and read the article.
OK so overall they have about 14% available ICU beds in FL. What is normal?
Also ICU rooms protect the staff, due to ventilation and other factors. So even if the patient doesn’t require INTENSIVE care, COVID positive patients often go into ICU aka the COVID floor because it’s the best place for staff and patient safety. NOT necessarily because the patient is soooooo sick, just Covid +
My wife has been a nurse for 35 years. All of those have been spent in Emergency, Critical Care and Cath Lab.
Her response to these stories -- NEVER in her career has there been a day where ICU was NOT completely full. They were always holding patients in the Cath lab or in the hall in the Emergency room waiting for an ICU or CCU bed to come open.