Mayo Clinic says COVID-19 cases have been steady but not yet overwhelming

Mayo Clinic says COVID-19 cases have been steady but not overwhelming yet

We know that hospitals have been on the frontlines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - We know that hospitals have been on the frontlines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

But while we've seen the surge of patients coming to hospitals in New York and other areas on the east coast, so far we haven’t seen that kind of pressure in Minnesota.

However, doctors say it's still serious in Minnesota, we just haven't hit a peak yet. And we won’t know we’ve hit a peak until after that peak is over.

As of Thursday, there are 145 people in Minnesota hospitals with COVID-19, ten more than the previous day. Some of these cases are critical but most are not.

Mayo Clinic's Dr. Oeckler describes caring for COVID-19 patients

The Mayo Clinic's ICU Medical Director Dr. Richard Oeckler says the number of cases have been steady, but not overwhelming.

"Fortunately, we seem to be flattening the curve in that we are seeing the same number of cases presenting every day," said Dr. Oeckler. "We haven’t seen that logarithmic growth. The case numbers are in the tens, thankfully, and not in the hundreds or exceeding our capacity at this time."

Dr. Oeckler says a large subset of patients have just mild symptoms and many can recover at home.