SALT LAKE CITY — Utah health officials confirmed another large increase in new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with 1,393.
The cases were confirmed out of 8,214 reported tests, with a 17% positive rate, according to the Utah Department of Health. The rolling seven-day average for new cases is now 998 per day, and the average positive test rate is 13.7%.
Sunday also marks the second-highest daily increase in cases the state has seen. The highest occurred on Sept. 25, when 1,411 were confirmed.
While every age group is experiencing a spike in cases, the largest share of cases continues to be confirmed in those ages 15-24, according to state health department data.
Perhaps due to the high share of younger cases, a large jump in hospitalizations has not happened yet compared to Utah’s earlier, summer surge of the disease. Currently, 175 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah, one fewer than were hospitalized on Saturday. Most of them — 126 — are in Salt Lake County hospitals, according to county health department data.
Salt Lake County on Sunday confirmed its record in daily cases, with 652. Within the last two weeks, those ages 20-29 have accounted for the largest share of cases, nearly 1,200, compared to any other age group in the county. But only five patients between 20 and 29 have required hospitalization within the last two weeks, according to the data. That age group is followed by those ages 10-19, who have accounted for 923 of the last two week’s cases and just four hospitalizations countywide.
Murray High School will move to virtual classes for the next two weeks beginning Monday after reaching the case threshold for which a school must close to in-person learning, Murray City School District announced Sunday evening.
Central Utah is also seeing a surge in cases. On Sunday, it confirmed 25 — the county’s highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. Piute County School District also announced classes are moving online for the next two weeks beginning Monday after confirming two more cases.
“The reason for this change is that though we do not have a large number of cases, our schools have had a difficult time operating with such a large number of absences by faculty and staff. Over 60 Piute High School students were absent on (Friday) for quarantines, isolations and other illnesses. The high school has had difficulty finding enough substitutes to fill in for all the teachers and staff that have either been quarantined or requested leave for illness,” district officials said in a statement.
Two more deaths were also reported Sunday, a Washington County man and woman both between the ages of 65 and 84. The woman was a long-term care resident, and the man was hospitalized when he died. They bring the state’s death toll due to complications caused by the coronavirus to 478.
Now 77,618 cases out of 860,894 people tested in Utah have been confirmed since the start of the pandemic, a rate of 9%. Hospitalizations in the state since the outbreak first hit now total 3,980.
About 57,400 of the state’s cases are considered recovered after surviving the three-week point since their diagnoses, meaning 19,700 cases remain active.
New COVID-19 cases reported Sunday by health district across Utah:
- Salt Lake County, 652.
- Utah County, 408.
- Davis County, 86.
- Bear River, 60.
- Weber-Morgan, 58.
- Southwest Utah, 43.
- Central Utah, 25.
- Summit County, 19.
- Tooele County, 16.
- Wasatch County, 13.
- Southeast Utah, 8.
- TriCounty (Uinta Basin), 4.
- San Juan County, 1.