Imperial County staying afloat in orange tier for now

Fewer hospitalizations could help the County move in right direction of re-opening - News 11's Arlette Yousif reports

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Imperial County Public Health Department held its COVID-19 update Thursday along with Pioneers Memorial Health District (PMHD) and El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC). There has been a slight uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Valley. However, the number of COVID-19 patients is still trending down.

Even with a minor setback, Imperial County could avoid stepping back into the red or more restrictive tier if numbers continue to improve.

Pioneers Memorial reports fewer hospitalizations in April than previous occurrences of spikes in cases.

"Hospitalization rates have been fairly low, which we truly appreciate. While we had three months running of decreasing COVID admissions, it did pop up a little bit as Dr. Munday said. We never exceeded 10 patients in the hospital. Currently, we’re at 7," says PMHD CEO Larry Lewis.

ECRMC is also experiencing a similar change in COVID-19 patients, though still prepared for higher volumes just in case.

"The COVID numbers are down. We tend to hover around seven or eight COVID patients per day. Our census is somewhere a little bit higher than normal in this time of year. Somewhere between the high 70's to low 90's. We did erect several tents for us to be prepared in, if we have a surge," says ECRMC CNO Lou Kenney.