{"id":38200,"date":"2020-05-30T05:21:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-30T05:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/virusreports.net\/with-26-new-covid-19-cases-reported-in-southern-utah-health-department-pinpoints-lack-of-social-distancing\/"},"modified":"2020-05-30T05:21:04","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T05:21:04","slug":"with-26-new-covid-19-cases-reported-in-southern-utah-health-department-pinpoints-lack-of-social-distancing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/virusreports.net\/with-26-new-covid-19-cases-reported-in-southern-utah-health-department-pinpoints-lack-of-social-distancing\/","title":{"rendered":"With 26 new COVID-19 cases reported in Southern Utah, health department pinpoints lack of social distancing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\"\"<\/img><\/p>\n

\n Stock photo of nurse holding test tube with blood for 2019-nCoV analyzing | Photo by
\nphotoguns\/iStock\/Getty Images Plus, St. George News <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

ST. GEORGE \u2014 <\/strong>A day after the largest rise in cases involving the coronavirus, Southern Utah surpassed that number by one on Friday to set a new one-day high \u2013 26 new cases \u2013 according to the Southwest Utah Public Health Department. With more people needing additional care for severe symptoms, there are now 17 local residents being hospitalized for COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While local health officials say they are still gathering data to specifically pinpoint the culprit for the increase in cases and hospitalizations, they indicated Friday that many of the cases have been traced to a lack of social distancing.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Heaton, spokesperson for the Southwest Utah Public Health Department, said many of the cases have been traced by investigators to either informal social gatherings where people did not practice social distancing or use face coverings when that was not possible. If not social gatherings, cases have been traced to interactions between friends and coworkers where social distancing was not practiced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we don\u2019t know for certain yet what has contributed to our recent rise in cases and hospitalizations, individual behavior will continue to make a difference in how COVID-19 spreads in our community,\u201d Heaton said. \u201cSocial distancing and mask directives as detailed in the current phase-yellow guidelines will work best if more people choose to use them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On May 16, Gov. Gary Herbert reduced the statewide coronavirus risk level to yellow, recommending for all businesses and government offices to reopen while still practicing social distancing and face coverings when that is not possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the second part of that sentence \u2013 social distancing and wearing masks \u2013 that health officials say may have been forgotten by some.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/img><\/a>
Infographic by Chris Reed, St. George News | Illustration of virus by Fusion Medical Animation\/Unsplash, St. George News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLow and moderate risk does not mean no risk,\u201d Dr. Angela Dunn, the state epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health, said. \u201cWe all have a responsibility to be proactive and to do the things we know will help limit the spread of this virus: stay home if you\u2019re sick, practice good hand hygiene, maintain social distancing, and when that\u2019s not possible, wear a mask.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Monday, the number of those hospitalized in Southern Utah has gone from five people to 17 \u2013 a 240% increase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Patrick Carroll, director of Dixie Regional Medical Center, said Thursday that the hospital has surpassed<\/span> beyond the 58% occupied figure<\/span><\/a> the state had said needs to be maintained to keep a local health system from being overwhelmed. However, Carroll added the hospital has been planning for months to deal with a surge in cases and is not putting those plans into action.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s not clear if all 17 local residents are being hospitalized at DRMC, Carroll said not every coronavirus patient is in an intensive care bed or on a ventilator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mitch Cloward, administrator of Dixie Regional Medical Center, has previously said that the hospital has 24 intensive care unit beds, but the hospital has planned for the ability to staff 89 ICU beds and has 79 ventilators on hand. There are 332 total beds, with the ability to add 80-100 beds if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/img><\/a>
Data from the Utah Department of Health shows the to case rates in the last two weeks in individual cities in Southern Utah as of May 29, 2020. Arrows indicate whether a city has moved up a rate tier, gone down or stayed the same. | Infographic by Chris Reed, Photo illustration by Pixabay, St. George News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Caroll also indicated the COVID-19 patients in the hospital right now are not all senior citizens. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe notion you\u2019re protected if you\u2019re not older than 65 \u2026 It\u2019s not true,\u201d Carroll said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the 26 new cases Friday, 20 of them were in Washington County \u2013 which has had 324, or 84%, of the 385 total cases in Southern Utah. Digging down even further, the Utah Department of Health reports there have been 236 cases specifically in St. George, though Washington City has been seeing a steady rise in cases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While it pales compared to the case spike in Washington County, Iron County has seen a mini-surge of its own this week, going from 40-56 cases in the last week \u2013 a 40% increase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cedar City accounts for 45 of those 56 cases. However, there have been a few additional cases appearing in the New Harmony\/Kanarraville area in the last 14 days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

State sees it\u2019s highest case total in one day<\/b><\/p>\n

While the state as a whole has been spared the case surge that has happened in Southern Utah, that wasn\u2019t the case on Friday as the state had its largest number of cases in one day \u2013 343.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/img><\/a>
State epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn speaks at a March 12 COVID-19 coronavirus briefing at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah. | Photo courtesy Utah Governor\u2019s Office, St. George News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, unlike Southern Utah, the state as a whole has seen a drop in hospitalizations in the last week and the case rate had been steady for the last two weeks up until Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 343 new cases is the largest, single-day increase we have reported since the beginning of this outbreak, I would caution against jumping to conclusions on what this particular data point might mean,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cOne day does not make a trend.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dunn pointed to some hot spots in the state as a reason for the one-day increase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One in particular provides an example of how quickly the virus can spread.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Gary Harder, the Utah secretary of veterans affairs, one resident at the Christoffersen Veterans Home in Salt Lake City tested positive for the virus on May 18. Seven days later, 41 of the 71 residents in the facility were infected along with 17 members of the staff.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harder said the Southern Utah Veterans Home in Ivins City remains virus-free.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRecovered\u201d doesn\u2019t mean virus-free<\/b><\/p>\n

Among those who have been infected with the virus in Southern Utah,\u00a0 237, or 62%, of those who have had the virus are considered recovered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/img><\/a>
Cars line up for the Intermountain Medical drive-thru coronavirus testing site at 376 E. 500 South in St. George, Utah, on May 11, 2020. | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, recovered does not necessarily mean they are free of the virus or in perfect health.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Southwest Utah Public Health Department and the Utah Department of Health defines someone who has recovered as a \u201cperson who has gone three weeks since being infected with the virus and has not passed away.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cedar City Hospital\u2019s Dr. Jarid Gray, who spent two weeks helping <\/span>coronavirus patients in the New York City area<\/span><\/a>, said he often discharged patients who were just well enough to get out of the hospital to free up a bed but were not necessarily back on their feet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery denotes when we think the patient is no longer infectious to others,\u201d Gray said, adding that recovered can also be defined as someone who has had three days without a fever and it has been 10 days from the onset of their symptoms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While those who are no longer infections are a cause for celebration, Dunn said it is important that people keep their eye on those who can still infect others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really important are the active cases,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cEach case gives us a chance to spread the virus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

COVID-19 information resources<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n