Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says hospital intensive care units are “at capacity” during the coronavirus outbreak.
Georgia has confirmed 1,387 coronavirus cases and 7 deaths due to the virus.
Bottoms said intensive care units are struggling to find beds for the sickest patients, partly due to a water main break at Grady, the city’s public hospital.
She confirmed Atlanta’s hospitals aren’t overrun by coronavirus patients, like hospitals in New York City.
“People have to understand that when we overrun our hospitals, people will still come in with heart attacks, people will still have car accidents,” she told CBS 46.
“These things that happen every day on top of COVID-19 will make our health care system collapse in the same way you’re seeing it in New York and you’re seeing it happen across the globe.”
Bottoms said hospitals in Atlanta are likely to be “near capacity” as the pandemic grows.
The CDC says people who have mild flu symptoms should avoid going to a hospital unless absolutely necessary.
The CDC offers the following tips to avoid spreading the flu or Covid-19 virus:
1. Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds
2. Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands
3. Avoid close contact with sick people
4. Sneeze and cough into a tissue or your elbow
5. Stay home if you are sick
5. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces
6. When in doubt consult with a healthcare professional
