Grand County Public Health Director Abbie Baker confirmed the death of a third Grand County resident due to COVID-19 on Friday.

Two other residents have died because of COVID-19 complications since the pandemic began. The first death in the county was reported in November 2020 and the second in January.

No additional information about the death was released.

With 110 COVID-19 cases reported in the last two weeks, Grand County is seeing its biggest spike in cases since last winter.

Also, hospitalizations are up in Grand County with nine residents currently hospitalized due to COVID-19. According to Baker, seven of those people were not vaccinated.

Seven of the hospitalizations have occurred within the last two weeks, meaning 6.36% of COVID-19 cases have resulted in hospitalizations in Grand County during that same time period.

Statewide vaccine breakthrough reporting has found that unvaccinated people are four times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 and nearly six times more likely to die.

An increased number of COVID hospitalizations across the state is a growing concern with 209 ICU beds currently available in Colorado as of Friday morning, according to state reporting.

When it comes to ICU bed capacity, Grand County is part of the Foothills RETAC Region with Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek and Jefferson counties. As of Wednesday, only 14% of ICU beds — 40 beds — in the region were available. Two regions in southern Colorado have no ICU beds available at all.

There have been 59 COVID-19 cases reported in Grand County over the last seven days, and there are three active outbreaks. As of this week, 63.1% of eligible residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.