SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. – With COVID-19 cases climbing, hospitals in Shasta County are prepping for a surge.

Hospital leaders say they have additional resources to help them expand beyond their ICU walls if needed.

Mercy Medical Center has 33 ICU beds. But there are 10 more additional beds that the hospital can move into just in case.

“All of us have the capacity to go beyond our ICU walls, but as I mentioned, we don't like to do,” said Robert Folden with Mercy Medical Center.

SIGN UP: Receive email updates on the Coronavirus pandemic

“ICUs are such a well-controlled environment and we like to keep our highly trained nurses, our highly trained physicians our respiratory techs, we like to keep them with those patients.”

Over at Shasta Regional Medical Center, the hospital has 22 ICU beds. Hospitals reps say while their ICU is almost full, they can expand into 12 more additional beds.

In order for a region to avoid a shutdown, ICU bed capacity needs to stay above 15%. Learn more about the regional stay-at-home order.