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"We are having trouble keeping up with all the normal health care needs," Dr. Clay Dunagan tells 5 On Your Side. He says the burden of COVID-19 is taking its toll on the St. Louis hospital system.

Dr. Dunagan serves as BJC HealthCare’s Chief Clinical Officer on behalf of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. He's also an infectious disease specialist at Washington University.

According to Dunagan, BJC is already postponing some elective surgeries because providers needed to care for patients sick with COVID. The Barnes-Jewish hospital system is also reducing regional transfers for people needing advanced care.

"That's not something we like to do," Dr. Dunagan tells 5 On Your Side. "Often we can offer care that's not available elsewhere, but we've had to be very careful about what we allow to be transferred in and not, so in that sense, it's already affected what we do."

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported 484 people are hospitalized in St. Louis with COVID-19 on Thursday, 114 are in the ICU.

"We're seeing higher case rates in the region," Dr. Dunagan explains, "just overall, then what we've seen for some time."

Viral infections always rise during the winter months as people spend more time indoors. Dr. Dunagan explains the Delta variant is more contagious than the viral strain doctors were treating last winter and soon they'll be treating for Omicron.

"It's more contagious than delta, which was already pretty contagious."

Dr. Dunagan and his colleagues are urging St. Louisans to be safe this holiday season, reminding people that now is not the time to forgo science.

"For the very near term, we need people to take personal steps to protect against transmission of the virus. I think the issues around St. Louis counties mass order are really tied up in politics, not science."

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