The Vermont Department of Health reported 105 people were in the state’s hospitals with Covid-19 Monday, the latest in a string of days with high numbers of Covid hospitalizations.
There were 111 people hospitalized with Covid on Saturday and 104 on Sunday. Monday was the 11th consecutive day with more than 100 Covid patients in Vermont hospitals.
Hospital staff and administrators have said they are under extreme strain because of a staffing shortage combined with the surge in Covid patients and people seeking care for other conditions.
The health department reported 23 Covid patients were in intensive care Monday, down slightly from the recent high of 28 ICU patients.
The department reported 1,545 cases Saturday, 1,007 cases Sunday and 525 cases Monday — leading to a seven-day average of 1,163 people testing positive for the virus each day.
That’s about a 61% decline from the peak of new infections on Jan. 9, but still higher than the roughly 800 cases per day at the start of the month.
State officials have noted that reports of hospitalizations and deaths tend to lag behind reported infections. The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, which keeps the state’s statistics, has forecasted that, even as cases “slow and possibly decline,” deaths may remain elevated through February.
The health department reported seven additional Covid deaths during the weekend, for a total of 41 so far in January. Overall, 521 people have died from Covid in Vermont since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.
