Utah reports its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah has reported its highest number of hospitalizations yet with 348 COVID-19 patients, surpassing the record of 342 patients set on Sunday.
"These are unprecedented hospital volumes," said Dr. Brandon Webb, an infectious disease physician at Intermountain Healthcare. "They are far in excess of what we saw during the last peak in July."
Last week, officials with the Utah Hospital Association told Gov. Gary Herbert that if the number of coronavirus patients did not decrease, state hospitals may have to transfer patients that are not improving out of intensive care units to make room for others, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Utah reported no new deaths from the coronavirus on Monday, with the total fatality count statewide remaining at 614 people, according to the state Department of Health.
There have been 888 Utah residents reported as hospitalized for the coronavirus in the past two weeks, the Tribune reported.
On Monday, the state recorded 1,196 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which brought the seven-day average of new daily cases down for the first time in more than two weeks.
Still, Utah's hospitals have taken the first steps toward "contingency care" in an attempt to stave off more drastic decisions.
Intermountain Healthcare, the largest hospital system in the state, will implement a plan that would bring in doctors who do not usually work in hospitals, the Tribune reported. University of Utah Hospital said they would implement a similar plan.
Under those plans, when doctors in a hospital reach capacity, the hospitals will enlist doctors "who work in the outpatient world to come in and provide in-patient care." Webb said the decision would be "not ideal."
University of Utah Hospital, which has two intensive care unit teams, has had a "surge unit" for the past three weeks, consisting of half ICU and half acute care, said Dr. Russell Vinik, chief medical operations officer at University of Utah Health. The surge unit will likely transition to all intensive care unit beds this week.
Webb said Intermountain has experienced longer wait times in the hospital system's emergency rooms. The hospitals have been transferring patients from full hospitals to facilities with more room in a practice called load leveling. Webb said, though, "you can't 'load level' when everybody is full."
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some - especially older adults and people with existing health problems - it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
