Amy Williams, the executive dean of the Mayo Clinic practice said in a Covid-19 update this week.

We will get through this, but we need to be safe, we need to protect each other."

'We need your help and we need it now'

Parts of the health system have already been overwhelmed by the surge in patients, while other facilities are preparing for what's to come.

In northwest Wisconsin, the Mayo Clinic Health System said last week that 100% of its hospital beds were full.

"The public urgently needs to treat COVID-19 as the health emergency it is to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed," the health system said in last week's statement.

"While we are temporarily deferring elective procedures in order to free up beds for COVID-19 patients, the public needs to understand we continue to care for other patient populations in addition to COVID patients -- we remain open for trauma, emergency care, and urgent care needs while also caring for COVID patients."

"We need your help and we need it now."

Meanwhile, Williams said in a media briefing this week that Mayo Clinic was boosting its ICU capacity in a Rochester, Minnesota, hospital to be able to handle a surge in Covid-19 patients.

In the video update, Williams said they're also seeing more patients transferred from hospitals outside of the Mayo Clinic Health System.

"Which just tells us hospitals elsewhere, in Minnesota, in Iowa, in the Dakotas, in surrounding states, are overwhelmed because of this surge."