CORONAVIRUS
Utah Breaks Single-Day Record With 1,117 New COVID-19 Cases
Sep 18, 2020, 1:06 PM | Updated: 1:27 pm
FILE (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – For the second day in a row, Utah has broken its own record for new COVID-19 cases reported in a single day.
The Utah Department of Health on Friday reported 1,117 new cases of COVID-19.
“This is another alarming day for our COVID-19 case numbers,” according to a statement from Gov. Gary Herbert. “We are clearly in an upward trend of cases. For months, we have warned people that they need to stay home if they are sick, and they need to stay away from others if they have tested positive for COVID-19. They need to wear a mask around others, even when they are not sick. We all need to consider the common public good when making daily decisions, and frankly, there is no room for lackadaisical behavior.”
Herbert said he’s questioning if health officials’ warnings and public education are enough. He said he’s meeting with Unified Command leadership on Monday to discuss “needed interventions.”
“I’d like to emphasize that all of the tools that government has for controlling the spread of COVID-19 are on the table,” Herbert said. “We are seriously considering each one of them.”
“In the meantime, I am encouraged by discussions occurring between Utah County elected officials and am glad to see them consulting with public health experts and treating this spike in cases seriously,” the governor added.
Friday’s spike pushed the rolling seven-day average for positive tests to 726 per day, and the rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests is now at 12.5%. The state has tested 743,737 people so far, and 61,775 of those tests returned positive.
The state has issued a total of 943,866 tests.
There are currently 131 patients hospitalized, 52 of which are in intensive care units. Another 53 patients are hospitalized as COVID-19 persons under investigation. UDOH reports that 56.1% of all non-ICU beds and 71.1% of all ICU beds in Utah hospitals are now occupied.
A total of 437 Utahns have died so far. No new deaths were reported Friday.
More than 50,000 cases are considered recovered, meaning those patients received a positive diagnosis more than three weeks ago and they have not died.
