CORONAVIRUS

Health Authorities Waiting To See If Christmas Had Effect On COVID-19 Cases

Dec 29, 2020, 6:52 AM | Updated: 7:12 am

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utahns had a happy Thanksgiving with the expected spike in COVID-19 cases well below the projections.

With Christmas now in the rearview mirror, the state’s hospital systems are waiting to see if we’ll have the same outcome.

“We’re not outside of the holiday season yet,” said Todd Vento, infectious diseases physician at Intermountain Healthcare. “We have New Year’s coming up, and the biggest concern with the holiday season is the fact that Christmas will be different than Thanksgiving because of an extended time of exposure.”

As families gathered over Christmas, the likelihood of exposure went up.

“If you’ve been in a situation where you’ve had a high risk exposure – unmasked, close contact, extended time, right there is Christmas dinner,” Vento said.

If you may have been exposed at a holiday gathering, Vento suggests waiting a few days to get tested. After exposure, it can take five – seven days for the virus to show up on a test. If you get tested too soon, it could return a false negative.

Vento suggested staying home for a week before getting tested.

If you’ve been exposed to a COVID-19-positive person in a high risk environment, you’re at a higher risk of developing an infection – even if it’s asymptomatic, which is why it’s important to make sure you’re not exposing others unknowingly.

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Health Authorities Waiting To See If Christmas Had Effect On COVID-19 Cases