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Corona virus in Utah: Almost all ICU beds are filled in registered high hospitals
(Rick Egan | Salt Lake Tribune) Taylor Woodrow examines patients for Covit-19 on Friday, December 4, 2020 on the Intermount Healthcare Cottonwood Instagram.
The COVID-19 crisis across Utah is not getting better, and there are plenty of places for it to get worse.
The Utah Department of Health registered 2,563 new cases Sunday. In addition, the seven-day period ending Sunday, November 30, brought in 21,598 new cases. The total number of positive cases since the onset of the epidemic is 215,407.
Those numbers are troubling, but other numbers related to deaths, current hospitalization and the positive rate paint a bad picture.
91% of all intensive care unit beds in the state are in use, while 96.5% of ICU beds are taken in major referral hospitals. Recommended hospitals in COVID-19 are the University Hospital in Salt Lake City and the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.
The highest number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital this week was 603, the number of those admitted to the current hospital for the first time on Saturday rose to over 600. That number actually dropped to 595 on Sunday, the third-highest number recorded in this seven-day period. The government said 597 were admitted to hospital on Thursday.
Seventy-one people died in the first six days of the seven-day period. No new deaths were reported Sunday as Utah’s total death toll has risen since the outbreak in 939. The state is on the verge of hitting 1,000 COVID-related deaths this weekend.
The positive ratio topped the 25% mark for the first time this week. The seven-day rolling positive rate as of Sunday was an epidemic-high of 26.6%. The seven-day average for new positive tests was 3,077 per day.
It should be noted that the full impact of Thanksgiving and the accompanying holiday weekends have not yet been realized, as almost 4 COVID-19 tests have been positive. Community gatherings around the holidays will still lead to new lawsuits in the state. Nevertheless, the Utah government, Gary Herbert, said that even though COVID-related numbers have risen alarmingly, they have not considered additional restrictions on assembly.
“The next 45 to 60 days will be important,” Herbert said Thursday. “We are moving forward now. We cannot reduce our security.”
New COVID-19 cases led to Thanksgiving, but they soared again last week following the holidays. A two-week emergency order barred meetings with people outside one’s own home. When that order expired, Herbert did not renew it.
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