CLEVELAND — At first, the Cleveland Clinic suspended some nonessential surgeries that required overnight stays just for Friday and Monday.
Now, they're suspending those surgeries until Nov. 20 for all locations in Ohio.
The move comes as cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19 are breaking records in the Buckeye State.
“It is important to understand that our hospitals remain safe and open to care for our community. Urgent and emergent surgeries — such as heart, cancer and neurological cases — and outpatient surgeries will continue as scheduled,” the Cleveland Clinic wrote in a statement.
Ohio recorded an all-time high of 8,107 new COVID-19 cases Friday, marking the first time the state has surpassed 8,000 cases within 24 hours since the pandemic began.
The state also reported 298 hospitalizations and 42 more deaths, which are both above average. As of Friday, more than 2,900 patients were currently hospitalized for COVID-19. On Thursday, the state had an all-time high of 3,031 current hospitalizations.
The hospital system says it will re-evaluate surgeries throughout the next few weeks, depending on the trends. The last time hospitals in the case postponed nonessential surgeries was in the spring into summer when they tried to save bed space for possibly COVID-19 patients.
As cases continue to climb, Gov. Mike DeWine recently issued a revised mask orders for businesses, which mandates employees and customers to wear masks or face the risk of being shut down for 24 hours. DeWine said it's an attempt to cut down the spread and hospitalizations.
DeWine warned Ohioans in a briefing Wednesday that health care workers are exhausted and are overwhelmed with hospitalizations. The Ohio Hospital Associated warned last week that hospitals were nearing max capacity. Cleveland Clinic announced that many of its doctors and nurses have fallen ill from the virus.
Ohio is just one of many states facing a "third wave" of COVID-19, as DeWine put it during his Wednesday briefing.
Earlier this week, the U.S. set a new record for coronavirus hospitalizations with 61,964, according to the COVID Tracking Project. In the first 10 days of November, the nation surpasses 1,000,000 cases — a record pace since March.
On average, there's been more than 930 deaths a day.
While the state and the nation continues to battle the outbreak, DeWine warned Ohioans that if the numbers don't go down, more orders for bars, restaurants and gyms could be coming soon.
"We are extremely concerned about the rise in cases in our community, and we urge the public to limit the spread of the virus by remaining vigilant in wearing masks, social distancing, and washing your hands," urged the Cleveland Clinic.