On Aug. 21, 2020, research by the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington found that every six additional ICU beds or seven additional non-ICU beds filled by COVID-19 patients leads to one additional COVID-19 death over the following week.

Results of the study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, showed the impact of ICU bed use remains fairly constant as ICU bed availability changes. These effects were also in line with recent literature estimates for the mortality among COVID-19 patients receiving critical care that show mortality rates increase as ICUs fill up