Idaho activates crisis protocol and says some COVID-19 patients may be placed in conference rooms because there are so few hospital beds

• Idaho activated a crisis protocol as the state battles a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
• The protocol says patients may be treated in conference rooms due to a shortage in hospital beds.
• The state is averaging more than 700 new virus cases a day, according to The New York Times.

Some patients sick with COVID-19 in Idaho may be placed in conference rooms if hospital beds are not available, according to a crisis protocol the state's Department of Health and Welfare activated Tuesday to combat a surge in hospitalizations.

The Crisis Standards of Care, activated in North Idaho, comes as the state faces a staffing shortage and lack of available hospital beds. The protocol is a guideline for healthcare providers to follow when deciding how to deliver the best treatment possible, given a disaster or public health emergency.

"Crisis standards of care is a last resort. It means we have exhausted our resources to the point that our healthcare systems are unable to provide the treatment and care we expect," DHW Director Dave Jeppesen said in a statement. "This is a decision I was fervently hoping to avoid. The best tools we have to turn this around is for more people to get vaccinated and to wear masks indoors and in outdoor crowded public places. Please choose to get vaccinated as soon as possible - it is your very best protection against being hospitalized from COVID-19."

The state said that when crisis standards are activated, people who need medical attention may have treatment different from what they expect. At hospitals with a shortage in beds, the state said, patients may find themselves in repurposed places like conference rooms or without necessary treatment equipment.

State data shows only 11 ICU beds were available on Monday.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little in a statement encouraged citizens to get vaccinated and help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

"We have reached an unprecedented and unwanted point in the history of our state," he said. "We have taken so many steps to avoid getting here, but yet again we need to ask more Idahoans to choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccine."

The state has one of the worst vaccination records in the US, according to the Deseret News. While the US as a whole has vaccinated 62% of eligible Americans age 12 and above, for Idaho it's only 49%.

Idaho is currently averaging more than 700 virus cases a day, down from 1,000 a few days ago in its highest averages since January, according to data from The New York Times.

Last week, the state saw record numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU patients, Idaho Division of Public Health data shows.