MOSES LAKE — Though there is additional room, the number of beds occupied by patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 at Samaritan Hospital has quadrupled since Nov. 16, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Eight patients in the hospital’s intensive care unit have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Thursday, up from just one on Nov. 16, said Gretchen Youngren, executive director of development and communications for Samaritan. The hospital’s ICU has a capacity of 12 beds total, Youngren added.

In the hospital’s Medical/Surgical Unit, for less acutely sick patients than those admitted into the ICU, four beds are occupied by confirmed COVID-19 patients, double from a little more than two weeks ago. That unit has a capacity of 25 beds, Youngren said.

The surge of acute care beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is regionwide. In Washington’s north central region, which includes Moses Lake, 19% of all adult staffed acute care beds and 50% of all adult ICU beds are occupied by coronavirus patients, the highest in the state by significant margins, according to the state Department of Health.