COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS DROP TO 20
Thanks in part to three straight days of zero new COVID-19 admissions through the Emergency Department, EAMC’s number of patients hospitalized with the virus is down to 20. That marks the lowest COVID census since June 27 when 19 patients were hospitalized.
“We were averaging around three new admissions a day back in July, and sometimes as many as six,” states John Atkinson, EAMC spokesman. “More recently, that number had dropped to one or two, but to have zero for three straight days is really good news. But it’s important to remember that our census was consistently in the 20s from May 4 – July 4 and three weeks later, we were at 62.”
For that reason, Atkinson said EAMC officials are pleading with residents to be very proactive this Labor Day weekend. “We cannot afford to let our guard down again,” he says. “We want everyone to enjoy their weekend, but to do so responsibly. Take the appropriate steps that we all know by now are key to reducing the spread of COVID-19.”
COVID CALLS AND CASES MAKE SIZABLE JUMP
After several relatively quiet weeks on the testing front, EAMC saw sharp volume increases last week for its call center, testing site and the number of positive COVID cases. The increase actually began on the previous Friday (August 21), but here are some statistics related only to the week of August 24-28:
- 4,147 calls to the 528-SICK call center, an average of 829.4 calls a day
- 752 tests performed, an average of 150.4 tests a day
- 290 positive test results, an average of 58 new cases a day and a positivity rate of 38.5%
“We did see an increase across the board last week,” says Atkinson, “but we were able to meet the increased need because of our experiences earlier in the pandemic.” Atkinson says the increases likely correlate to schools re-opening in August. “The new cases have not had an impact on hospitalizations yet, and we hope the same can be said in two weeks.” Atkinson added that call volumes, testing and the positivity rate were all lower Monday and Tuesday of this week.
MALDONADO EXPLAINS WHY 6% TWEET IS MISLEADING
“A lot has been discussed about a tweet a few days ago that stated ‘This week the CDC quietly updated the COVID number to admit that only 6% of all the 153,504 deaths recorded actually died from COVID.’ That tweet was removed—in this case, appropriately—because it was a false statement. In order to clarify this topic, let’s start with this knowledge: any person who dies from an acute illness will have comorbidities listed as contributing conditions on their death certificate. For example, if someone dies from a stroke, the death certificate will list other comorbidities, which will likely be hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, etc. However, the acute illness that caused the death was still the stroke.”
Read the rest of Dr. Maldonado’s blog here:https://bit.ly/3lIEGhB