Fewer inpatients, but clinicians, lab techs on alert

As of Friday, Dec. 10, UW Medicine hospitals were treating 18 inpatients for COVID-19, as systemwide totals this week dropped below 25 for the first time since July.

“This number is lower than it's been since midsummer, so we're very excited to see that,” said Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine hospitals and clinics. “That being said, with the omicron variant, we want to encourage people to stay vigilant. Please continue to social distance. Mask up and stay current with your flu and your COVID shots.”

Brandenburg also spoke about the efficiency of the virology laboratory, which sequenced the first local cases of the omicron variant and is nearing 4 million COVID-19 tests processed throughout the pandemic.

“We're incredibly lucky to have the UW Medicine Virology Lab as part of our system and part of this community,” said Brandenburg. “They have played a key role in this pandemic, both in sequencing variants and doing COVID testing.”