LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — The omicron variant is moving at a record speed across Arkansas, and our hospitals are seeing the biggest impacts of this surge.
Dr. Gerry Jones, CHI St. Vincent's Chief Medical Officer said he wasn't surprised the numbers rose so quickly. At CHI St. Vincent, COVID patients have doubled in the past week from in the teens to in the thirties.
At UAMS, doctors expect to hit a record-high number of COVID patients. They predict their COVID patient number will climb into the eighties -- something they've never seen before during this pandemic.
While we are still below our peak from the last surge, the steep increase we are seeing with omicron is impacting our hospitals and straining the limited staff.
"We've had a lot of healthcare workers leave the workforce," said Dr. Rawle Seupaul, UAMS' Chief Clinical Officer. "That has been compounded now by quarantines."
But so far, this surge has not caused symptoms as bad as the previous waves.
According to CHI St. Vincent's Dr. Jones, there are currently no COVID patients requiring ventilators.
Baptist Health is also seeing an increase of patients. Right now, they have more than 150 COVID patients across the state.
They are also seeing record numbers of people needing to be tested for the virus, which is causing wait times that could be hours long.
Now hospitals are looking at the data to see how long this surge could last.
While there's no way to be 100% certain, some models are showing this wave peaking before then end of the month.