A Pennsylvania hospital is setting up special tents to deal with the overflow of flu patients. The emergency room at Lehigh Valley Hospital is worried about being overwhelmed with patients. Doctors and nurses there have already seen hundreds of patients.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as everybody is working it up to be. That’s our hope,” says Lee Rizzo, who lives in Lehigh County.
Every county in Pennsylvania has flu cases. It’s one of 41 states the Centers for Disease Control lists as having widespread influenza. The peak flu season isn’t until mid-January.
The tents will be divided into serious versus mild cases of the flu. Each one has about 6 beds. The hospital expects to begin using them Wednesday morning.