Conspiracy Theorists Are Trying to Access Utah Hospital's ICU to See if Unit Is 'Really Full' Amid COVID-19

Conspiracy theorists are taking it to a new level in Utah by trying to get into a local hospital’s intensive care unit to see whether it’s full or not. Utah Valley Hospital has said a handful of people, including a few who brought video cameras, tried to sneak in.

"We have individuals trying to sneak into the hospital to visualize and videotape this themselves,” Hospital administrator Kyle Hansen told the Provo City Council this week.

Hansen added that it doesn’t seem anyone has been successful getting in, but the hospital has now had to take extra precautions when it comes to visitors. Hospital staff are also watching the entrances more thoroughly.

"You really can only get in if you're here for an appointment yourself or you have to be listed in a log that we track as a designated visitor for a patient. But we've had some people get pretty creative in how they've lied about coming in for an appointment or other things," Hansen said.

The ICU in the hospital has been expanded to another floor to make room for the amount of patients. As of Tuesday, the hospital had 45 COVID-19 patients.

Calls from people asking about ICU numbers have also put a burden on staff.

"We have an inordinate amount of phone calls that we're receiving every day from the community wanting to know, 'Is your ICU really full?’”

While the actual attempts to get into the hospital have been few, the extra precautions is taking away care from those who need it, according to a statement by Intermountain Healthcare, which owns the hospital.

RELATED STORIES