Coronavirus Second Wave: Utah Health Officials Warn Of 'Complete Shutdown', California Hits Record-High Hospitalizations

Utah and California, two of the 23 states seeing huge spikes in new COVID-19 cases after easing movement restrictions, are tightening curbs once again.

It's looking increasingly possible Utah will impose a complete lockdown by July 1 as COVID-19 cases surged after Gov. Gary Herbert (R) loosened movement restrictions on May 14. The Utah Department of Health (DOH) sent Herbert and other state and local officials a memo Monday stating a complete lockdown appears the only feasible option on the table after admitting contact tracing and testing won't be enough to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19.

DOH said the current surge began 12 days after Herbert loosened restrictions by downgrading the state's coronavirus alert level to “yellow” (or low-risk) from "orange" (moderate-risk).

Utah has a color coded alert system consisting of four colors that indicate the intensity of infections within the state. Red is high-risk and green, the lowest level, means "New Normal."

"This might be our last chance for course correction," wrote Dr. Angela Dunn, the state epidemiologist, in the DOH memo. "Utahns care about these colors. They change their actions based on them. They are the key messaging tool to the public."

DOH wants Herbert to return the state to "orange" if new daily cases don't fall to 200 by July 1. The state has averaged 471 new daily cases during the past week, which makes a sudden drop to 200 in just one week highly unlikely.

“We are quickly getting to a point where the only viable option to manage spread and deaths will be a complete shutdown,” said Dr. Dunn.

Underscoring the DOH warning are 444 new cases recorded Monday -- the 26th straight day with more than 200 new cases. DOH reported the deaths of three Utahns Sunday, bringing the state’s death toll to 158.

Utah had 17,462 cases Sunday compared to 14,313 from the previous Sunday (June 14). DOH reported 394 new cases last Sunday. As of Sunday, Utah was the 30th most infected state in the country. New York remains number one with more than 411,000 cases.

DOH said Utah has seen a steady and unsustainable increase in cases over the past few weeks. It saw two consecutive days of record-high case counts last week: 586 on Friday and 643 on Saturday.

California is also desperately trying to control a discomfiting jump in COVID-19 cases that saw hospitalizations hit a new high, surpassing the previous record in late April. Public health officials warn if residents don't maintain social distancing and other precautions, tighter restrictions will be imposed.

On Sunday, California reported 3,702 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 infections. Of this total, 1,199 -- or 32% -- are in intensive care. There were an additional 1,102 hospitalized patients with suspected COVID-19.

Before the Saturday high of 3,574 hospitalizations, the previous record was 3,497 hospitalizations on April 29. California sees hospitalizations as a more reliable metric for tracking the pandemic compared to new case numbers. That's because hospitalizations don't depend on the availability of testing.

Unsurprisingly, the disease spike followed California's entering stage two of its reopening plan. This stage allows some businesses to resume operations. Among these businesses are retail, offices, personal services and child care. Officials attribute the increase in cases to a decline in social distancing as people once again mingle outside the safe shelter of their homes.