CLEVELAND — Three major Ohio hospital systems are postponing elective surgeries amid the state's COVID-19 surge, officials announced Friday. 

What You Need To Know

  • Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and University Hospitals, officials said 90% of COVID-19 patients in their ICUs are not vaccinated 

  • All three have started postponing elective surgeries

  • Ohio is back to early fall peak levels of COVID-19 cases in the state

In a joint statement between Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and University Hospitals, officials said 90% of COVID-19 patients in their ICUs are not vaccinated and are urging Ohioan's to get the shots as soon as possible. 

"As we continue to navigate the pandemic and adjust to the changing healthcare needs of our patients, our health systems are seeing unprecedented demand for inpatient care across our facilities. This has led to our hospitals reaching nearly full capacity at many locations," the statement read. 

In response to the surge, all three hospital systems have postponed elective surgeries.

For the Cleveland Clinic, it will temporarily halt scheduling of non-urgent inpatient surgeries requiring a hospital bed in Ohio locations, with the exception of Euclid and Lutheran hospitals, starting Monday to Jan. 3, 2022.

Essential and urgent surgeries, including heart, cancer, pediatric, transplantation surgeries and outpatient surgeries, not requiring a hospital bed, won't be affected during this time. 

MetroHealth said it already has started postponing some elective surgeries, as well as urging patients to use the Hospital in the Home program. 

University Hospitals is rescheduling certain non-urgent surgeries at UH Cleveland Medical Center. The center will continue to provide surgeries that don't require an overnight stay, but officials warn it could change. 

On Thursday, the state reported 9,131, which is back to peak case numbers in the fall, according to the Ohio Department of Health. The last time the state recorded a 24-hour change of more than 9,000 cases was Sept. 10. 

“Sadly, we continue to see an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations,” said ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff during a press conference Thursday. “These numbers are comparable to what we were experiencing at the peak of our in the fall surge.”

Ohio is now averaging more than 5,500 cases a day. As of Thursday, the state reported 3,916 COVID patients in its hospitals.

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