COVID-19 patients are 'dying in the corridors of a Detroit hospital before they get help', claim overwhelmed doctors as the city's death toll hits 247 with more than 20,000 cases in Michigan

COVID-19 patients are dying in the hallways of a Detroit hospital before they can get help, overwhelmed medics in the city say. 

At least two people left in corridors at Sinai-Grace Hospital have been found dead by overworked nurses, sources told CNN.  

Staff at the hospital are so overwhelmed that the emergency room's Sunday nursing team all staged a sit in to ask for more help.

One healthcare worker told the network: 'We've had patients die in hallway beds because the nurse didn't find they didn't have a pulse until it was too late.'

The physician added: 'Each nurse has so many patients that by the time they come to check on their next one, there is a chance that patient may not have a pulse anymore.'  

One worker described the hospital as looking like a 'third world country in a war zone'.  Another said patients 'we know are going to pass' have been taken off monitors to free it up for 'someone else that needs it'. 

Nurse Kenisa Barkai said she was fired after posting a video of her protective gear on Instagram. 

Emergency room attending Sal Hadwan said he too was dismissed, telling The Detroit News: 'We need more help because we’ve been working under extreme conditions. We told them we need additional staff and went to check on patients.' 

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COVID-19 patients are dying in the hallways of a Detroit hospital before they can get help, overwhelmed medics in the city say. At least two people left in corridors at Sinai-Grace Hospital have been found dead by overworked nurses, sources told CNN 

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Nurse Kenisa Barkai , left, said she was fired after posting a video of her protective gear on Instagram. Emergency room attending Sal Hadwan, right, said he too was dismissed, telling The Detroit News: 'We need more help because we’ve been working under extreme conditions. We told them we need additional staff and went to check on patients'

Health officials, meanwhile, reported that Michigan has had 20,346 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 959 deaths from the disease caused by the coronavirus. 

In Detroit the death toll stood at 247 as of Wednesday.  

Medics say test results take days to come back and the hospital has been forced to keep even ventilated patients in hallways.  

They said the 'ever-increasing number of patients' is putting a strain on resources and staff but added: 'Surge plans are in place at our hospital to handle the increase in patient volumes to ensure we provide the safest and most appropriate care for our patients.' A spokesman for the hospital said: 'It's important to understand that everyday emergency rooms all over the country face dynamic situational challenges and even more so now in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.'

The mayor of Detroit said Wednesday that the coronavirus is 'starting to weaken' in Michigan's largest city, but he also pleaded with residents to keep the momentum going by wearing masks and avoiding large groups.

There were fewer new cases and deaths reported Wednesday than on Tuesday. 'We are starting to weaken it,' Duggan said. 'If we don't give it new energy by clustering we are going to be successful.'  

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she would announce plans Thursday to extend Michigan's stay-at-home order. 

Detroit has  6 percent of Michigan's population but has had more than 25 percent of the state's virus cases and deaths.