SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Department of Health on Friday announced 439 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths.

It marks the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases in Utah so far. The previous record was on May 28, when officials reported 333 new cases.

“One out of every three of these new cases are from the Bear River Health District, and many of those are tied to an ongoing outbreak we have been investigating at a local meat processing facility,” according to state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn. “Many of the workers at this facility match the demographics of who we know are at the highest risk for infection. I expect to see additional cases of COVID-19 identified as part of this outbreak, both at the worksite and in the community.”

Community spread happens in places where people are in close contact and enclosed spaces. Take extra precautions in common places like workspaces and your homes. Continue to wash your hands, avoid touching your face and consistently sanitizing items and spaces after use. pic.twitter.com/miTS0EjUCH

— Utah COVID-19 Community Task Force (@UtahCoronavirus) June 5, 2020

Dunn noted that it’s “more important than ever” that employers provide safe working environments for employees and have policies in place that allow those employees to stay away from the workplace when they are sick.

There have been 11,252 total cases and 120 deaths in Utah so far, according to UDOH.

The three patients who recently died were all residents of Salt Lake county. Two were men between the ages of 60 – 85, both of whom were hospitalized at the time of death. The third was a woman older than 85 who was a long-term care facility resident.

The latest numbers report comes on the heels of Gov. Gary Herbert’s announcement that the state will remain in yellow, or low-risk, phase in light of the spike in new cases. Salt Lake City, Mexican Hat and Bluff, however, will remain in the orange, or moderate-risk, phase.

That order has been extended through June 17.

Of Utah’s positive cases, 870 required hospitalization. There are currently 114 patients hospitalized for coronavirus treatment.

The state has issued 232,197 tests so far, and 4.8% of those tests have come back positive.

An estimated 6,788 patients are considered “recovered.”

“Now is not the time to let your guard down,” Dunn said. “Social distancing is more important than ever, yet people seem to be taking it less seriously than ever. If you’re sick, stay home. If you’re moving about in public, wear a mask. It is up to all of us as individuals to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Utah.”

Total number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Utah

Jurisdiction	Cases	Hospitalizations	Deaths
Bear River	491	20	2
Central Utah	42	3	0
Davis County	525	49	2
Salt Lake County	5901	510	81
San Juan	314	30	5
Southeast Utah	26	0	0
Southwest Utah	554	47	4
Summit County	422	38	0
Tooele County	144	9	0
TriCounty	20	1	0
Utah County	2143	112	17
Wasatch County	317	15	2
Weber-Morgan	353	36	7
State Total	11252	870	120