FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Two years into the pandemic, Fresno County health officials say local hospitals are still treating 606 positive patients, more than they are equipped to handle.
EMS director Dan Lynch says local facilities are running at 107 to 145 percent capacity.
But there is good news for the local healthcare system -- many workers are back on the job after COVID isolations.
"About 50 percent of the employees that were reported off before are now coming back to work, which really is helping us start to staff those surge beds," Lynch said.
Because of the return of workers, Lynch says in the last week, Community Healthcare added 100 beds, a number expected to rise to 136 by the end of this week
But Fresno County is not out of the thick of the Omicron variant surge yet.
While more populated parts of the state are starting to see an improvement in COVID cases, Lynch says Central California tends to lag behind LA and the Bay Area by at least a couple of weeks.
"We are very hopeful that we are getting close to this peak and that we will start to see some sort of a downward trend," Lynch said.