Fresno and Tulare counties have set up alternate care sites as the number of Covid-19 patients continues to go up.

In Fresno, Community Regional Medical Center has partnered with the Fresno County Department of Public Health to open an overflow site in the North Plaza. According to Dan Lynch, EMS director for Fresno County, the site had its soft opening Friday with 12 patients and the expectation of a full opening Monday morning, in which all 50 beds would be made available.

Lynch explained that even though 13 ICU beds were shown to be available in Fresno County, the number was actually lower as patients were moved out of the emergency department and into intensive care.

“The hospitals are really in crisis right now with the number of patients within their hospitals full and not just the ICU beds, which are very, very limited,” Lynch said. “It’s not enough to sustain our large communities.

In Tulare County, another overflow site has been set up at Sierra View Medical Center in Porterville. According to Malynda Parsons, public relations specialist for Sierra View, there were 19 beds at the overflow site and as of Tuesday morning, seven of these beds were occupied.