Hospital patient overflow sites ready to go in Riverside County

With hospital ICU capacity nearing disturbing levels, Newsom announced that medical surge facilities are on standby to open and provide additional space if needed.

RIVERSIDE, Calif - “We are set and ready if the governor calls for it,” says Riverside County Health Dept PIO Jose Arballo Jr. He's talking about hospital overflow sites in the county. One is at the old Sears store building in the city of Riverside, which still has beds and equipment inside from early in the pandemic when it was also named as a possible location for overflow patients.

The other is the county fairgrounds in Indio, where they actually handled patients earlier this year when some regional medical centers were filled to capacity.

Both are being used as COVID-19 testing centers, which could continue even if they are used to deal with patients. At this point, Arballo explains, there has been no talk of closing them, which was good news for the people in long lines, waiting to be tested in Riverside.

"Here we go again," said one driver, saying there is a sense of deja vu, as we get ready to live under stricter guidelines. "If we have to" says another person driving by. "Might as well take it through the holidays, since it’s when people will
tend to gather anyway, regardless of any orders", he adds.

There does seem to be a sense of resignation at this point, with the whole idea of stay-at-home orders, with a definite sense of exhaustion. As one woman put it, "I wonder how much longer, before we all explode."

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