MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — With local hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, Mobile Fire-Rescue issued a “critical mass index zero” code Wednesday afternoon, indicating there are no available ambulances in the city.

For weeks local hospitals have been near capacity due to the overwhelming COVID-19 caseload amid the surge of delta variant patients.

As intensive care units fill up with COVID-19 patients, emergency room patients who would otherwise be transferred to ICU have nowhere to go. As a result, ERs fill up and ambulances cannot deliver patients to ERs.