London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Los Angeles ambulance crews, stretched thin by Covid-19 surge, told NOT TO TRANSPORT PATIENTS expected to die

Los Angeles ambulance crews, stretched thin by Covid-19 surge, told NOT TO TRANSPORT PATIENTS expected to die

Ambulance crews in Los Angeles, which has become ‘ground zero’ for the latest surge in US Covid-19 cases, have been ordered to refuse transport for people likely to die, conserving resources for those with better chances.

Due to the pandemic’s impact on hospitals, “adult patients in blunt traumatic and nontraumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest shall not be transported if return of spontaneous circulation is not achieved in the field,” the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency said in a memo on Monday. The policy applies to all types of patients, from those suffering a heart attack or stroke to accident victims.

Patients in traumatic cardiac arrest who meet certain criteria, such as showing no return of spontaneous circulation or shockable rhythm identified during resuscitation efforts, “shall be determined dead on scene and not transported,” the directive said. For patients in nontraumatic cardiac arrest who don’t meet the so-called Reference 814 criteria, on-scene resuscitation efforts should continue for up to 20 minutes “or until futility is reached.”

The EMS Agency also ordered new restrictions on how much oxygen can be administered to patients in various situations. For instance, “EMS should only administer supplemental oxygen to patients with oxygen saturation below 90 percent.” All of the changes were made effective immediately.

Los Angeles County has tallied nearly 11,000 Covid-19 deaths and currently has about 7,700 patients hospitalized with the virus, according to public health data. County officials warned on Monday that weekly deaths may rise to 1,000 if current trends continue. There were a record 262 deaths reported last Wednesday alone, and the county’s cumulative number of confirmed cases doubled to 800,000 between the end of November and January 2.


The National Guard has been called in to help county workers move corpses from overcrowded hospital morgues. “There have been some unfortunate outcomes for patients in hospitals and ambulances across the county who couldn’t be offloaded into an emergency department in a timely manner,” the county’s Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly told the Los Angeles Times.

Many hospitals are reportedly diverting ambulances to other providers, while some arriving patients are put into waiting rooms. In some cases, intensive care is being carried out in hallways and recovery areas.

Epidemiologist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding called the new ambulance policies “next-level bad.” He added, “This radical change in ambulance rules means if an EMT paramedic cannot resuscitate a heartbeat, a patient will not be transported to any hospital in Los Angeles. This is worse than rationing care.”


Los Angeles hospitals are “on the brink of catastrophe,” UN Goodwill Ambassador and journalist Isha Sesay reported on Twitter. “From my apartment, all I hear is ambulance sirens, all day long.”


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×