Columbia, Tenn.-based Maury Regional Medical Center suspended its elective surgery program Oct. 26, in response to surging COVID-19 case numbers in the region, The Daily Herald reports.
The hospital had 50 COVID-19 patients as of Oct. 23. Twenty of the patients were in the hospital's intensive care unit.
The Tennessee Department of Health said Oct. 22 that the state had a record 1,300 patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Elective surgeries requiring an overnight stay will be suspended for two weeks, hospital officials said.
Alan Watson, Maury Regional Health CEO, said in a statement: "The time has long passed for our community to take this virus seriously. We are seeing the impact of our community letting down their guard, and we must make every effort to mitigate the spread of this virus so that it does not further tax health care providers across Middle Tennessee and the entire state."