Wisconsin forced to open field hospital to handle COVID-19 overflow

Wisconsin has resorted to the use of a field hospital after COVID-19 cases in the state ballooned past the capacities of local hospitals, Axios reports. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) said the 530-bed hospital, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the state fairgrounds in April, will begin accepting patients within a week.

"We hoped this day wouldn't come, but unfortunately, Wisconsin is in a much different, more dire place today and our healthcare systems are beginning to become overwhelmed by the surge of COVID-19 cases," Evers said. "This alternative care facility will take some of the pressure off our healthcare facilities while expanding the continuum of care for folks who have COVID-19."

Just 16 percent of Wisconsin's hospital beds were still available as of Tuesday, Axios notes, with more than 800 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. An additional 141 patients have been hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms since Tuesday, which marked a 30 percent increase over the previous day's 108 hospitalizations, the state's Department of Health Services reported Wednesday. The DHS also showed that all of Wisconsin's 72 counties were seeing "high" or "very high" levels of the disease.

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Wisconsin is now ranked third in the nation for new cases per capita, The Associated Press reports, noting that "health experts have attributed the spike to the reopening of colleges and K-12 schools as well as general fatigue over wearing masks and socially distancing."