The biggest fear is that after a surge of cases from Christmas and New Year's gatherings, the hospitals will have to start rationing care - basically meaning they would only treat people who have the best chance of survival.
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MORE: Hospitals faced with stark choice: Who gets care, who gets turned away?
Amid COVID-19 surge, SoCal hospitals faced with stark choice: Who gets care, who gets turned away?
Still, hundreds of people are dying every day in the state from the virus.
Nurses at St. Joseph Hospital in the city of Orange say it's heartbreaking to see it firsthand.
"They fight every day and they struggle to breathe every day even with tons of oxygen. And then you just see them die. They just die. And they fight dying. It's so sad," described Caroline Brandenburger, a COVID unit nurse.
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The state has deployed nearly 90 refrigerated trailers, up from 60 a few weeks ago, for use as makeshift morgues.
Orange County reported 29 more COVID-19 fatalities on Monday, along with 3,259 new coronavirus cases. The county has 2,221 hospitalized coronavirus patients, including 544 in intensive care.
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Some overflowing LA hospitals resort to putting patients in gift shops, conference rooms