911 emergency medical system at ‘breaking point’ as US reports record of 100,667 hospitalisations

‘Without additional relief, it seems likely to break,’ says ambulance chief

Medical staff at a hospital in Houston, Texas, close the body bag of a deceased Covid-19 patient (Go Nakamura/Getty Images)

The US has recorded a new record number of Covid-19 hospitalisations as an ambulance chief warned that the country's 911 call system is at "breaking point".

Some 100,667 Americans received clinical care for the disease on Thursday — up slightly from the previous day, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

New infections and deaths continue to climb as the virus runs riot through vast swathes of the US.

Health officials reported a new daily record of 216,548 coronavirus infections nationwide — up from 200,472 on Wednesday.

Some 2,857 deaths were recorded, a slight increase on Wednesday's total of 2,885.

That brings the total number of recorded infections in the US to more than 14 million while the death toll stands at 276,000, according to New York Times data. 

Medical professionals continue to be overwhelmed by a resurgent virus.

Aarron Reinert, president of the American Ambulance Association (AAA), has called on the federal government to help the health care sector.

"The 911 emergency medical system throughout the United States is at a breaking point," he wrote in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services last week, seen by CNN.

"Without additional relief, it seems likely to break, even as we enter the third surge of the virus in the Mid-West and West."

Mr Reinert said that ambulance services in both the public and private sectors across 50 states are in desperate need of a cash injection.

"Similar to hospitals and many skilled nursing facilities, ground ambulance service providers and suppliers since March have been serving their communities in a disproportionate manner to their traditional role in the Medicare programme," he said.

He added: "Given the substantially heavier burden that AAA members are carrying during the pandemic, we reiterate our request for HHS to provide additional funding from the Congressionally allocated dollars for the Provider Relief Fund specifically to ground ambulance service providers to ensure the stability of these essential providers and suppliers as the country continues to battle the pandemic."

His organisation is calling for $2.6 billion of additional funding to prevent the medical emergency system from collaping as coronavirus infections surge going into flu season.