"It's all hands on deck," Alabama runs out of ICU beds as COVID cases surge

Hospitals in Alabama have run out of intensive care unit beds as coronavirus cases spike across the state, forcing workers to make space to treat patients as they wait for open beds. There were 29 more patients than ICU beds available as of Wednesday, an Alabama Department of Public Health spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.

Hospital staffers have been forced to convert hallways, regular patient rooms and emergency spaces into areas where they can treat patients in need of ICU rooms, CBS affiliate WHNT reported. Officials said some patients could be transferred to different hospitals when beds become available.  "We've never been here before. We are truly now in uncharted territory in terms of our ICU bed capacity," Dr. Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told CBS affiliate WTVY.