“We were in a much different place in the spring,” said Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious disease at South Shore Health.
WEYMOUTH — With COVID-19 cases in the state now reaching numbers not seen since mid-May, hospital officials say they’re prepared to see a second surge in hospitalizations.
Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious disease at South Shore Health, said the hospital has launched its incident command system, an almost military-like approach to large-scale events where everyone comes together with defined roles.
“We’re not at a crisis point, but we’re getting it set up and running so that we’re not playing catch up,” Ellerin said Monday. “We’re expecting to see an increase in hospitalization. We know we’re repeating the loops. But what the numbers will be like. We have no idea.”
Over the weekend, positive COVID-19 cases in the state reached numbers not seen since mid-May, with 1,128 new cases of reported Saturday and another 1,097 new cases on Sunday.
The cumulative 2,225 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Massachusetts over the weekend put the state’s total case count at 147,120 and on track to surpass the 150,000-person mark this week. The Department of Public Health also reported 32 recent COVID-19 deaths over the weekend, increasing the virus’s death toll in Massachusetts to 9,864 people since mid-March.
As of Sunday’s daily report from the Department of Public Health, there were 538 people in a Massachusetts hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 109 people were being treated in an intensive care unit, including 45 on ventilators.
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South Shore Hospital was treating nine patients with COVID-19 on Sunday. At the peak in April, the hospital had 150 patients with COVID-19 receiving care at one time.
Since the pandemic started, experts have learned a tremendous amount about the virus and how it spreads, and it’s become clear that personal protective equipment works and certain treatments work better than others.
“We know that we’re managing individual patients better, even critically ill patients, so we’re not sure the same number of patients will die,” Ellerin said. “We’re managing and treating the critically ill better, but we still do have critically ill patients.”
For example, Ellerin said medical experts know that dexamethasone, a powerful steroid, can help critically ill patients, and the antiviral drug remdesivir can help prevent the virus from progressing.
Limiting mobility is also something Ellerin said has proven critically important. Visitor restrictions are in place, patients with COVID-19 are in designated units and the health system’s mobile integrated health allows people who may be exposed to the virus to be tested in their own homes to limit exposure.
The hospital’s material management team has also built a stockpile of personal protective equipment in anticipation for a surge.
“We were in a much different place in the spring,” Ellerin said.
Richard Fernandez, president of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton, said the hospital is currently treating a handful of patients confirmed to have COVID-19. While the state data shows 18 current cases, Fernandez said that data includes patients awaiting results who were tested only as a precaution.
While cases in the hospital are slightly rising, Fernandez said the hospital is ready for a potential second surge. Precautions implemented last spring are still in place, including having staff answer a medical screening prior to their shift and testing all patients who are admitted to the hospital or come in for procedures.
“We’ve been preparing ever since we came out of the surge last spring,” he said. “Our number one job is keeping staff and patients safe.”
Fernandez said COVID-19 testing has greatly improved from the spring, when it was nearly impossible to fully grasp the spread of the virus due to limited testing capabilities.
“In March, we had no idea there was an inferno all around us. All the testing we’re doing now shines a light on where the hot spots are,” he said.
Fernandez said the hospital system has built a stockpile of all the necessary personal protective equipment to keep staff and patients safe. He stressed that patients in need of care shouldn’t put it off because COVID cases are rising.
“The hospital is one of the safest places to be. We know who has COVID and we know how to protect staff, providers and patients,” he said.
The seven-day average of the positive test rate, one of the key metrics Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration watches to make decisions about its economic reopening process, continued its climb over the weekend and stands now at 1.5 percent, up from its low point of 0.8 percent just more than one month ago.
Ellerin said he can’t underscore how important of a role the public plays in the outcome of the pandemic, especially as people begin to move indoors and are tempted to gather with friends and family during the upcoming holiday season.
“We don’t have a cure or an effective vaccine and we won’t have one for the winter, so because of that we need the public to follow infection control measures that we know work,” Ellerin said, noting that wearing masks and social distancing works. “We showed that in the first wave, and we can get there again but we have to double down.”
Reach Jessica Trufant at [email protected].
