COVID-19: Facts About Patients in the Hospital

Washington Hospital has received numerous calls from concerned community members who are hearing rumors about a high number of COVID-19 patient admissions to our Hospital. We want to provide everyone with accurate and timely information to help dispel this rapidly circulating rumor.

Like every other hospital in the region, Washington Hospital has been treating patients with COVID-19 since the spring of 2020, but currently Washington Hospital is NOT experiencing an increase in COVID-19 patients requiring hospital admission. While the Hospital did have a large number of COVID-19 patients in our care earlier this year, the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital has been low for weeks – and remains low today. For the last several weeks, the total number of COVID-19 patients in our care has been in the single digits. The COVID-19 variants that are being seen in this county and the state have also held steady. The list of known variants in the area remain the same and include: B.1.1.7 (first identified in UK), B.1.351 (first identified in South Africa), P.1 (first identified in Brazil) and B.1.427 and B.1.429 (first identified in CA, sometimes referred to as West Coast or California variants). Currently, the variant known as B.1.617 (also referred to as the Indian variant) is NOT a known variant of concern locally.

This is a great opportunity to remind everyone that COVID-19 vaccination is a highly effective way to fight the pandemic. We encourage eligible community members (ages 16 and older) to get the vaccine. Washington Township Medical Foundation continues to run our community vaccination clinic and is currently offering all three COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson). For more information about scheduling an appointment, go to whhs.com/covid or call our vaccination call center at 510.248.8200.

In advance, we thank our community for being vigilant. We ask that you help us share confirmed information to prevent further misinformation.