We fall for the dirty tricks of this virus every time (well not me and James, but mostly other people)
First you get cases, 1000's every day. But look no one is dying, so it's a mild variant bois. We don't have to do anything
Then ~1 - 2 weeks later a whole bunch are admitted to the hospital and some land in the ICU right away.
Wait, how did this happen?
Next the elderly and obese with weak immune systems start dying.
With those people already mostly locked indoors their immune systems get weaker as this drags on.
Another problem with the ICU's is that a recovery from COVID can take up to 3 to 4 weeks. So someone who lands in the ICU and responds well to treatment, will still be there for weeks.
This is much different from the usual ICU admissions that are really focused on short term emergencies where the patient either dies quickly because of a heart failure or something or can be moved to regular hospital care after staying in the ICU for a few days.