YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Hospital officials in Ohio say the rise of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are putting a strain on healthcare systems and the workers who treat those patients.

During Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's press briefing doctors from hospital zones across the state shared what the surge in cases looks like right now in their areas and how much higher they could go up.

"We can't sound the alarm bell loud enough to the people of the state of Ohio to change their behavior," Dr. Andy Thomas said, of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

On Monday, the Ohio Department of Health reported 11,885 coronavirus cases across the state, 282 hospitalizations and 24 more deaths from the virus. The state has surpassed 6,000 deaths linked to the virus.

The total number of cases was higher than in prior days due to a backlog of getting results processed and recorded from two major hospital systems.

"The high volume in these cases is now overwhelming the system," DeWine said, when referring to the reporting of the statewide numbers.

In Dr. Thomas' region/Zone 2, COVID-19 hospitalizations rose from 400 patients on November 2 to 800 patients on November 18.

"Until we see cases peak and start coming down in a sustained way, we're going to see hospitalizations continue to rise," Dr. Thomas said.

The Ohio Hospital Association is reporting 4,358 positive coronavirus patients hospitalized across the state, which is up 59-percent from just two weeks ago. On Monday, Ohio had 1,079 people in intensive care units fighting the virus.

The state's leading doctors reported their current situations to the governor during his briefing on Monday afternoon. Most say that having enough staff and tools to treat the cases counted is becoming a growing concern.

"All of us are starting to be stretched, we are trying to balance load as best we can," Dr. Robert Wyllie said, of the Cleveland Clinic, who oversees the Toledo, Canton and Youngstown regions.

He says this region went from 600 hospitalizations two months ago on September 23, to over 4,000 in just a matter of 60 days.

"We saw for the first time that we were trying to transfer ventilators and high flow oxygen equipment, because people were actually running out," he said.

His biggest concern is having enough health care workers to treat patients.

The Cleveland Clinic had 970 caregivers out on Monday, because they're either in quarantine or have an active COVID infection. 

The tool the pandemic is taking on hospital capacity and staff was explained in detail by Dr. Josh Miller from the Cleveland Clinic on WFMJ Weekend Today on Sunday.

"We look at each one of these infections and they're not catching it in the hospital, they are caregivers, are getting COVID and acquiring it in the community," he said

Wiley says they're starting to move staff around to have enough people to treat patients in COVID-19 units.

The doctors are stressing the public to wear masks, keep up with social distancing and hand hygiene. 

The governor along with the health care leaders are urging the public not to gather with people outside of their households on Thanksgiving.

If family members do travel, it's recommended that they quarantine for 14 day prior to visiting to avoid the spread of the virus.

"The growth is exponential at this point and it's not that we're planning for the surge-- the surge is here," Dr. Richard Lofgren said, from UC Health.