MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The spread of COVID-19 in Martinsville has resulted in changes for emergency services in the region.

Patients in the Martinsville area who don’t meet the criteria to be taken by ambulance to the emergency room are now being advised to see their doctor or to go to another urgent care facility.

Martinsville Fire-EMS says the changes are necessary because Sovah Health Martinsville is operating at “disaster levels,” and there are a  limited number of beds available.

The agency also says that “Most of our hospital emergency departments are holding critical patients, which require significant emergency department space and resources that are no longer available to the emergency department.”

The conditions are the result of the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout the Martinsville area.

Emergency departments throughout Southside Virginia are all running at capacity as a result of an increase in infections due to the delta variant.