Beaumont hospitals report surge of COVID-19 patients, both younger - and sicker

FOX 2 - About a month ago, Beaumont Health System had 128 Covid patients in its eight hospitals across Metro Detroit. Now that number has exceeded 500.

"Again it's early in the surge -  so until we really gather some data, it's harder to know for sure, but it does look like the patients are a bit sicker than they were in the prior surge," said Dr. Matthew Sims, Beaumont Health.

COVID-19 patients nearly quadruple in a month at Beaumont hospitals

Dr. Matthew Sims, the head of infectious disease research, attributes the surge in cases to a couple of things.

And these new patients are a lot younger.

"The majority of patients age between the ages of 30 and 50, I think the main reason for this is the older population, a lot of them, have been vaccinated," he said.

Sims, the head of infectious disease research, attributes the surge in cases to a couple of things.

More than a year into this pandemic, many people are experiencing "pandemic fatigue." They are gathering more and traveling more and with that, the risk of contracting the virus inherently increases.

"All it takes is one slip, one person who isn't isolating well to get Covid into the mix," Sims said.

And many people are now testing positive for the UK variant, which experts say is much more contagious than the original strain.

"We have not yet seen the impact of spring break on this," he said. "That's going to make it worse. People are gathering by the hundreds in some of the southern states, on beaches, and then they are going back to where they came from."

Despite the surge in cases, Beaumont has updated its visitation policy. Non-Covid patients are now allowed one visitor a day, but that person must be fully vaccinated against the virus.

"It helps them get through the day, it helps them heal faster, it keeps them in a better mood," Sims said. "We recognize that part of getting patients better and helping them through their hospitalization is their social interaction with friends and family when they come to visit so that they are not alone there."