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Brigham and Women’s Hospital revealed Thursday that it is working to contain a cluster of COVID-19 cases in two of its medical-surgical units, an unusual outbreak that apparently occurred as “battle-weary” staffers let their guard down. Hospital officials believe the outbreak was triggered by either a patient or an employee who interacted last week. The employee came to work while “presymptomatic” — infected but not yet showing symptoms. The employee tested positive on Sunday and the patient on Monday. (Freyer, 9/24)

Hospitals in Missouri’s third-largest city are approaching capacity due to a surge in coronavirus cases. Officials at Springfield’s two major hospital systems, CoxHealth and Mercy, told the city council on Tuesday that they were running out of staff and capacity, the Springfield News-Leader reported. Cox Medical Center South was housing a record 82 patients Monday, including around 35 in the hospital’s special unit for COVID-19, CEO Steve Edwards said Wednesday, noting that more patients are dying from the virus.“We’ve had more deaths in the past month than we’ve had the whole year,” Edwards said. (9/24)

The pandemic is pushing many over the edge, and industry leaders are predicting widespread closures that will be devastating to their communities. ...Georgia in recent years has been among states with the largest number of hospital closures, with seven shutting down from 2010 to 2019. Two more, at opposite ends of the state, have announced they will cease operations in October, with pressures from the pandemic just the last straw in their financial burdens. (Berard, 9/24)

In an effort to expand available COVID-19 testing, Contra Costa County health officials are ordering private healthcare facilities to quickly provide tests to essential workers and others at risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Under the health order, which goes into effect Oct. 8, healthcare providers will have to test people in a “timely” fashion if they are essential workers, report having been exposed to someone with COVID-19, or are part of a contact tracing investigation designated by the county health department. (Sciacca, 9/24)