New COVID-19 Record With 1,411 New Cases; 4 New Deaths, 184 Hospitalizations
Sep 25, 2020, 1:08 PM | Updated: 1:27 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Department of Health on Friday reported 1,411 new cases of COVID-19 and four new deaths.
The state, for the first time, reported more than 10,000 tests in a 24-hour period.
“Testing is a critical component of our response and helps us understand the spread of the virus in our communities,” according to a UDOH statement.
Health officials said Friday’s record number of new cases has been primarily driven by young people.
“We expect these increases will also spill over to other age groups and the data indicates this is starting to happen,” according to the health department.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests at 960 per day, and the rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests is 14%, which is down slightly from the previous two days.
Utah has tested 795,217 people so far, and 68,530 of those tests returned positive. There have been 1,022,373 total tests aministered.
The state is releasing a public awareness campaign aimed at 15 – to 24-year-olds to encourage them to make choices to wear a mask, washing their hands, stay home when sick, and social distance in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. The campaign is called Ronalert!
Friday saw a slight decrease in hospitalizations, though, after more than a week of that number steadily climbing.
There are currently 184 patients hospitalized with the virus, 76 of which are in intensive care units. Another six patients are currently hospitalized as COVID-19 persons under investigation. UDOH reports 54.6% of all non-ICU beds and 67.7% of all ICU beds in Utah hospitals are occupied.
A total of 448 Utahns have died from the virus. The following deaths were reported Friday:
- Male, between 65-84, Weber County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 65-84, Iron County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, older than 85, Salt Lake County resident, long-term care facility resident
- Male, between 65-84, Washington County resident, long-term care facility resident
The state is considering 53,360 cases as recovered, meaning those patients received a positive diagnosis more than three weeks ago and they have not died.