SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 7, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah medical leaders came together in a Zoom press conference Wednesday morning to address a spike in COVID-19 cases and the potential impact on hospitals and caregivers.
“With new cases of COVID-19 in Utah spiking and hospital ICUs across the state once again starting to fill with sick COVID patients, medical leaders from Utah’s major health systems are concerned about the current trend and potential impact of a growing resurgence of the disease in the state,” said a news release from Intermountain Healthcare.
“Utah was identified this week as a national top 5 COVID hotspot, as cases and hospitalizations are rapidly climbing.”
Medical leaders from Intermountain Healthcare, HCA/MountainStar, Steward Health, and University of Utah Health, held the collaborative Zoom press conference.
Doctors say that the surge is being fueled by the COVID Delta variant and primarily causing illness and hospitalizations among people who are not vaccinated for the virus. They are urging people who have not been vaccinated to do so as soon as possible.
Medical leaders also addressed the surge and potential impact on Utah caregivers, who are recovering from the peak of the pandemic late last year, when Utah hospital ICUs were operating beyond capacity levels and caregivers were struggling to keep up with skyrocketing patient volumes.
The full Zoom press conference can be seen above.
