Utah reports 7th straight day with over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases

Health care workers treat COVID-19 patients at the University of Utah Hospital Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. | Charlie Ehlert, University of Utah Health

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah health officials reported another 2,517 COVID-19 cases and 11 more deaths on Tuesday, marking the seventh day in a row with more than 2,000 new cases confirmed in the Beehive State.

The cases were reported out of 12,826 people tested, a 19.6% positive rate, according to the Utah Department of Health. The rolling seven-day average for new cases is now 2,554 per day, and the average positive test rate is 21.9%.

Currently, 435 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah, nine fewer than were hospitalized on Monday.

The Utah Department of Health explained Tuesday that the Utah Health Guidance Levels webpage that provided information about county-by-county COVID-19 transmission levels and restrictions has been temporarily removed due to the new public health mandates.

On Monday, orders by Gov. Gary Herbert and the Utah Department of Health went into effect requiring everyone in the state to wear masks in public or when within 6 feet of those from other households, restricting casual social gatherings between members of separate households, and halting most extracurricular activities for students.

The transmission index will return after the governor’s emergency order ends in two weeks on Nov. 23, a spokesman with the health department said. But the statewide public mask mandate will continue until further notice, the governor said.

So far during the pandemic, 137,385 people in Utah have tested positive for COVID-19 out of 1,180,749 people tested, with an overall positive rate of 11.6%. Hospitalizations since the beginning of the outbreak total 6,284.

The deaths reported Tuesday bring the state’s toll to 672. The latest deaths include four Salt Lake County residents: a man and woman older than 85; a man between 25 and 44; and a man between 45 and 64, all of whom were hospitalized when they died. Two Wasatch County women between 65 and 84 also died, one of whom was hospitalized and the other whose hospitalization status was unknown.

Three Utah County men were also among the deaths, one of whom was between 45 and 64 and a long-term care resident; one was between 65 and 84 and not hospitalized when he died; and one older than 85 who was hospitalized when he died. A Davis County man and Washington County man, both between 65 and 84, also died while hospitalized.

This story will be updated throughout the day.

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