As lawsuits and disagreements over the election mount, the country must not forget the ongoing COVID-19 battle. It affects everyone, regardless of political party or ideology. It has not ended with the election, and it won’t be gone by the holidays, either.
On Thursday, the U.S. reported a record 116,707 new coronavirus cases, the second consecutive day with a six-digit case count. That was accompanied by more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths, the third consecutive day with a death toll of more than 1,000.
In early July, we called for a statewide mask mandate. That was when daily case counts surpassed 800. Now, some four months later, it’s abundantly clear Utah’s trajectory is “unsustainable,” as Herbert recently called it.
The rise in cases is mostly expected as temperatures drop and people head back indoors for winter. State officials have said they know it will get worse.
“We will see much higher numbers in the coming weeks,” Gov. Gary Herbert said. “We will continue to see dramatic increases until we choose to act differently. Medical professionals have warned us again and again. We must change our behavior, if we are to expect a different outcome.”
Even as positive case counts spike across the nation, Utah remains a hot spot. The Beehive State’s record-smashing 2,987 cases on Friday and 17 new deaths is a culmination of several weeks of increasing cases. The rolling seven-day average for new cases is now 2,033 per day, and the average positive test rate is 19.7%. Hospitals are filling up, as nearly 400 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized and intensive care units statewide operate around 78% capacity.
This is uncharted territory for the state, and the line between control and the inability to handle the surge is growing thinner.
With Western states like Nevada, Wyoming and Idaho depending on Utah for tertiary care, it is clear that the trend affects more than local residents. In a conversation between Utah state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn and national officials, Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force warned that surrounding states and residents could be negatively impacted if Utah’s system becomes overloaded.
Small social gatherings, perhaps friends meeting up or families getting together for a weekend meal seem to be the worst offenders for spreading the virus in recent months. That should give everyone pause as they plan their holiday festivities this year.
The thought of a Thanksgiving without loved ones breaking bread together is almost unthinkable. Yet, Utahns need to ask themselves hard questions in the coming days: Is gathering worth the potential for exposure to the virus? What about grandparents or vulnerable family members? How can festivities be modified to align with the state’s transmission index?
We aren’t strangers to the disappointment of adapting life’s happiest moments to fit the current moment, but as Utah and the country experience its worst surge yet, those adaptations seem a paltry sacrifice to keep loved ones safe.