For the second week in a row, the CDC predicts that the amount of new COVID-19 patients to be hospitalized will decrease over the next four weeks. The virus surge continues to overwhelm hospitals in the meantime, some in record numbers not seen since the pandemic began.

It's a record that Enloe Medical Center in Chico was hoping not to beat, but did so Wednesday. They say that 89 patients infected with COVID-19 are currently being treated at the center, the highest number of COVID patients they have simultaneously cared for ever. They have not seen a number even remotely this large since the winter of 2020.

Enloe Medical Center currently has three Intensive Care Units set up to deal with the surge in COVID patients. There's usually only one.

In early September, the average age of COVID patients being cared for was between 55 to 64 years old, according to the center's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Marcia Nelson. She says people of all ages are being hospitalized and that they've even admitted a baby in its first month of life since the Delta variant of the virus touched down in the county in June.

This adds to the difficulties that Butte County's largest hospital has encountered in recent weeks. COVID-19 antibody treatments are currently being rationed due to the rising demand, and several portions of the center are being configured into intensive care units to meet bed demand. To make matters worse, Nelson adds that even they are not shielded from the staffing reality businesses across the nation are facing.

"In Chico, just like across the country, there is staffing shortages, particularly of nurses, techs, all the support people that make the hospital work. So it's a big stress right now when we have COVID patients because COVID patients are typically sicker," says Nelson.

On a wider scale, 121 patients infected with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized across the county, according to Butte County Public Health. This is nearly twice the amount seen just one month ago and nearly twice the amount currently seen in neighboring counties like Shasta. The California Department of Public Health reported only four available ICU beds throughout the entire county on Tuesday.

Of the 89 COVID patients at Enloe, 79% are not fully vaccinated, meaning they have either received one or zero doses of a coronavirus vaccine. It's a stark contrast to over 60% of Butte County's entire population that has received at least one dose. Nelson says getting the remaining percentage fully vaccinated will not only protect themselves but also help relieve some of the stresses seen inside the center.