COVID-19: 2,292 Utahns Have Tested Positive, 3 More Have Died

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah health officials on Friday reported 2,292 residents have tested positive for COVID-19.

Currently, 318 patients are hospitalized.

Another three Utahns have also lost their lives as a result of the virus, which brings the total number of people in the Beehive State to die as a direct result of COVID-19 to 601.

“While it is true that Utah’s COVID-19 mortality rate is substantially lower than the national rate, we must not become numb to what these numbers mean for our communities — for those infected, for everyone who loves them,” Gov. Gary Herbert said in a statement. “Assuming a 5 percent hospitalization rate, and a 0.5 percent fatality rate, we would see 115 hospitalizations and 11 deaths, just from the nearly 2,300 cases we are announcing today. This will cause increasing strain on our already overworked medical professionals, and leave even more families with an empty chair at their dinner table.”

Herbert said health officials still don’t know the longe-term effects that thousands of Utahns will face as they recover.

“We cannot be too cautious in our efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19,” he said.

Testing

The Utah Department of Health on Friday reported a total of 1,073,637 people have been tested. That’s an increase of 10,346 tests from yesterday – 2,292 of which returned positive.

To date, 112,932 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19. UDOH has reported 1,463,440 tests have been administered.

Some patients have been tested more than once, which is why the number of tests is greater than the number of people tested.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests is at 1,622 per day, and the rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests is now at 18.2%.

Hospitalizations

There are currently 318 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and 133 of those people are in intensive care units.. Another 20 patients are currently hospitalized as COVID-19 persons under investigation.

UDOH reported that ICUs are now 72.5% occupied. All non-ICU beds in the state are 54% occupied.

Deaths

A total of 601 Utahns have died as a result of COVID-19.

Health officials on Friday reported a Salt Lake County man between 25 – 44 who was hospitalized, a Tooele County man between 44 – 65 who was hospitalized, and a Davis County woman between 65 – 84 who was a resident of a long-term care facility have all lost their lives.

For more information on Utah’s COVID-19 statistics, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.