Yuma County sets single-day case record
We’ve got to shake off COVID apathy and take charge, readers
393 new COVID-19 cases in a single day. That’s a record for Yuma County, and we set it on Sunday.
Thanksgiving isn’t even here yet, and we’ve had a significant spike in new COVID case counts, including our highest single-day case count since the beginning of the pandemic – a fact we confirmed with Yuma County.
And check out these recent numbers:
• Saturday, Nov. 21 – 265 new cases
• Sunday, Nov. 22 – 393 new cases
• Monday, Nov. 23 – 126 new cases
• Tuesday, Nov. 24 – 106 new cases
We can see from the Yuma Regional Medical Center numbers that the hospital is seeing the impact of these numbers.
On Monday, there were 105 hospitalizations, 19 people in the ICU, and 17 ventilators in use.
One week ago, on Monday, Nov. 16, there were 57 hospitalizations, 8 people in the ICU and 12 ventilators in use.
That’s a significant increase Monday to Monday And yet, it’s as if any warnings are falling on deaf ears.
We understand that statistics are simply numbers – we get that. It’s hard to find relevance in a statistic until someone you know becomes one. Suddenly, those stats become people.
The goal here is to share information with you so that you can make informed decisions moving forward, and use that information to best protect yourselves.
We know that there is a certain numbness setting in. We become indifferent over time as the message stays the same: “Wear your mask! Social distance! Wash your hands!”
But that message is serious.
• Our hospitals across the state are rapidly becoming overwhelmed. Yuma Regional Medical Center is holding on – but when we are setting new case count records, one has to wonder how much longer they can-hold on.
If you think you are experiencing fatigue, think about the doctors and nurses and support staff. Think about the teams who work the emergency department at YRMC, monitoring an incoming COVID patient’s oxygen levels and trying to navigate the right care while at the same time, that team is also managing a cardiac patient in the next room, an overdose patient, and a guy who just crashed his quad in the dunes. And in the lobby? There are more people awaiting care.
This is the reality right now. Amid those COVID patients, the “normal” emergencies don’t stop.
We have the ability to make a difference. But to do so, we’ve got to shake off that apathy, and take charge of the situation. Follow the steps, and take care, Yuma.
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