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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah health officials on Thursday reported 7,033 new cases of COVID-19, along with six deaths.
Currently, 843 people are hospitalized in the state with COVID-19, 67 people more than on Wednesday and more than at any other time during the pandemic. Of those patients, 194 are being treated in intensive care units, which two more than was reported the previous day.
The percent of hospital beds occupied now is about 6% higher than on Wednesday, at 61.7%. About 89% of ICU beds are occupied and about 92% of ICU referral beds are occupied.
Part of this increase, the Utah Health Department said, is due to an error in the way some hospitals' capacity data was being recorded, an error that began in October when the Utah Healthcare Resource Management System transitioned to a new data reporting system.
This error has been fixed on the public dashboard, and the health department said it now more accurately represents hospitalization data between October and now.
School children account for 930 of the new cases reported on Thursday. Of those cases, 390 were children between ages 5 and 10, 211 were children 11-13, and 329 were children 14-17.
The health department reported another 14,481 people who were tested.
The rolling, seven-day average of positive tests is now 7,820 per day. The seven-day average rate of positive tests is still rising and is currently at 46.7% — a new record for Utah.
As hospitalizations from COVID-19 are trending upwards, despite case counts leveling off, Intermountain Healthcare is urging people to continue to be careful. During a press conference on Thursday, officials explained circumstances when a hospital visit may be necessary.
Dr. Wing Province, a Summit County emergency room doctor and the medical director at Intermountain Park City Hospital, said about 20-25% of current emergency room visits are COVID-19 patients.
He said some patients are only coming to the emergency room because it is worth an emergency room bill to them to be able to get a test and they have some COVID symptoms, but others come in because they are seriously ill and are admitted to the hospital or transported to other locations.
For anyone who has tested positive, Province said that they should only go to the emergency room if they are experiencing symptoms of severe disease. Some warning signs include difficulty breathing, unusual difficulty staying awake, paleness, or blue lips. He suggested that every home should have a pulse oximeter, and if it shows a blood oxygen level of less than 90%, that person should call 911 or go to the emergency room.
"For most people who are in overall good health, I would say just to isolate at home, take good care of yourself and that includes staying hydrated (and) taking Tylenol or ibuprofen when you have fevers or body aches," Province said. "And really importantly just don't go out, because when you go out with COVID you continue this pandemic but when you stay at home you stop the spread. And that's really important," Province said.
And, really importantly, just don't go out — because when you go out with COVID, you continue this pandemic but when you stay at home, you stop the spread.
–Dr. Wing Province
He clarified that monoclonal antibody treatments are not available at an emergency room.
Since only one of the four types of monoclonal antibodies that worked for delta variant cases works on the omicron variant, the treatment is more rare and reserved for people who are immunocompromised or are dealing with other significant health issues.
In addition to a significant number of people being hospitalized with COVID-19, hospitals are also dealing with a blood shortage.
Province said that the pandemic and the blood shortage are tied together, and that one of the issues causing the shortage is that there are not enough Red Cross caregivers to process the blood and get it ready for hospitals.
Province said that it has had a large impact on the hospital emergency departments, and that they are taking cautionary measures to make sure that available blood goes where it is most needed. At this point, the hospital has not been forced to choose between patients that need blood, but he said they are doing all they can now to prevent having to make a decision like that in the future.
The fact that the 2022 Sundance Film Festival will be held virtually has likely helped the Park City hospital because there is typically an uptick in emergency visits when there are more people in town for the festival. Province said it means a lot to the community that the festival is remote, and that people making those decisions are prioritizing health over profit.
He cautioned that people should not give too much consideration to the numbers of positive tests, but that the "true nature" of how bad the pandemic is can be seen in the number of people who are hospitalized.
"We are seeing a lot of readmissions because of the very fluid nature of this disease and just how everybody does react very differently to it," Province said.
Province also said that people who talk about getting COVID-19 "just to get it over with" should be more careful because not only is there a possibility of hospitalization and/or death, there is a very real possibility of negative long-term effects of COVID. He spoke about a patient who was very active, but after contracting the coronavirus, has had consistent breathing issues and needs to rest after walking a few feet.
He asked people to put aside their own needs and priorities, wear masks, and get vaccinated — including the booster. Province said that the pandemic could have ended long ago if people put the needs of others ahead of their own.
"Everybody who works in the hospital, we don't want this either. We wish it were over with, too," he said. "We're just as tired of this as you are. We'd love to go back to our normal lives. But the reality is that we are still dealing with this."
Province called it a "pandemic of personal moral character," though, he remains optimistic, as he's seen groups of people rallying together through it all.
Close to 5 million people have been tested — utilizing more than 8 million tests — for the coronavirus in Utah since testing became available, including an increase of 14,481 since Wednesday's report. The number of positive cases in the state is now 869,085, according to the health department.
The state has administered 4,783,868 doses of vaccine, which is an additional 5,458 since yesterday.
The six new COVID-19 deaths reported in Utah on Thursday include:
- A Salt Lake County man between the ages of 65 and 84, who was hospitalized at the time of his death.
- A Davis County man, 25-44, hospitalized.
- A Salt Lake County woman, 65-84, long-term care facility resident.
- A Sanpete County woman, 65-84, hospitalized.
- A Salt Lake County woman, 45-64, hospitalized.
- A Washington County woman, 45-64, hospitalized.
