California coronavirus: Oxygen supply issues forced five LA-area hospitals to declare ‘internal disaster’
CNNCNN — Oxygen supply issues led at least five Los Angeles County hospitals to declare an “internal disaster” Sunday, which included turning patients away. There are multiple issues involving oxygen delivery to patients, but generally the problem is not an absolute shortage of oxygen, according to Dr. Christina Ghaly, Los Angeles County Health Services director. “Because of that high flow through the pipes, sometimes it’s freezing in the pipes, and obviously if it freezes then you can’t have good flow of oxygen.” The oxygen issues come as Los Angeles County sees a near-overwhelming surge of Covid-19 patients taking nearly every hospital to capacity. Los Angeles County Department of Health Services confirmed that several hospitals have gone on “internal disaster” designation because of oxygen issues, closing themselves off to incoming EMS traffic.
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