Coronavirus: Utah responds to the pandemic

Loretta Muller and Chris Larsen with University Healthcare conduct COVID-19 testing at the U. Wellness Bus at the Central Park Community Center in South Salt Lake on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, Rep. Ben McAdams and Gov. Gary Herbert have been key figures as the Beehive State responds to COVID-19

Utah has seen 75,157 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 474 total deaths as of Friday, according to the Utah Department of Health. That’s an increase of 1,107 cases from Thursday. 15 new deaths were reported.

“The number of deaths we report each day does not mean these deaths all occurred in the past 24 hours,” Utah Department of Health’s Director of Communications Tom Hudachko wrote in a press release Oct. 2.

He went on to explain that the numbers take some time to report: “This is due to the time it takes for deaths to be reported by hospitals, long-term care facilities, or funeral homes to the Office of the Medical Examiner (OME), and for the OME to conduct its death investigation.”

• Total number of COVID-19 cases: 75,157
• Total reported people tested: 845,583
• Total COVID-19 hospitalizations: 3,916
• Total COVID-19 deaths: 474
• Single-day high for reported cases: 1,411 (Sept. 25)
• Single-day high for reported deaths: 15 (Oct. 2)

Worldwide, the novel coronavirus pandemic has now infected 34,161,721 and killed 1,016,986 people as of Friday, according to the World Health Organization.

The respiratory illness is especially hard on those who are elderly, immune-compromised or who have chronic health conditions. Children are not severely ill with COVID-19, as the resulting illness is called, unless they have an underlying condition, but they can transmit the illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is one of many government agencies providing extensive resources and advice on managing this coronavirus.

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