Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are on the rise as the omicron variant continues to surge throughout New Mexico.

Hospitalizations are now at between 500 and 600 patients a day, according to a report by KRQE. That is leading to some long wait times. Presbyterian Albuquerque Hospitals and UNMH Albuquerque hospitals, the largest hospitals in the city, have six-hour wait times for emergency room admissions. 

Chief Medical Officer for Presbyterian Healthcare Services Dr. Jason Mitchell pleaded for the public’s help to the news station, saying that 203 patients across the state were admitted to hospitals for coronavirus, amounting to about 30% of hospital beds. Mitchell urged the public to only go to the emergency room to received a COVID test if they are sick and showing symptoms. Presbyterian Albuquerque Hospitals are running at 110-120% capacity while UNMH is in even worse shape at 130-150%, according to the report. This comes at a point where the Department of Health announced 4,264 new COVID-19 cases, a record high, in the state on Jan. 7.

“If you are truly very sick and having difficulty breathing, having chest pains, please come to our emergency rooms,” Mitchell said to KRQE. “But if you’re having mild symptoms, that there’s a lot of other places to consider.”

It is getting to the point where patients who are coming in with other ailments are testing positive for coronavirus when they didn’t know they had it. Dr. Steve McLaughlin, UNMH Chair of the Department of Medicine, said that examples include people coming in for appendicitis or a broken leg. He said this shows how rapidly the virus is still spreading.

And due to staffing shortages, Phoenix based Dignity Health has even allowed COVID-positive staff who are mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic to work in accordance to CDC guidelines, according to azfamily.com

According to the New Mexico Department of Health Jan. 10 report, between Jan. 8-10 there were 9,284 new cases and 37 addition deaths with a seven-day positivity rate of 25.8%.