Twelve COVID-19 patients on Cape Cod are so ill they have been placed in intensive care.
Cape Cod Healthcare CEO Mike Lauf said Thursday that Falmouth Hospital has seven people in ICU, while Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis has five.
They also have 10 and 11 patients on other floors who have tested positive, respectively.
“All the clinical protocols are being followed to make sure that they have the best possible chance to recover from this virus,” he said.
A small number of hospital employees on the Cape have tested positive for the virus, Lauf said. He would not specify how many.
He said the workers have been quarantined. Cape Cod Healthcare is tracing anyone who came into contact with those workers, directly or indirectly.
Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention give health care workers Priority 1 status for testing. Lauf said their results will be returned more quickly than others.
Ninety-six cars went through the testing site at Cape Cod Community College on Wednesday, bringing the total to more than 2,200.