SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah continues exponentially increasing its testing capacity, confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose Sunday to 719.
Just under 14,000 Utahns have been tested for the disease, up nearly 3,000 since Saturday. Confirmed cases rose 116 since the previous day, according to the Utah Department of Health. The rate of positive cases among those tested continues to hover just above 5%.
The rate of patients requiring hospitalization in the Beehive State has remained about 10%, Dr. Angela Dunn, epidemiologist with the Utah Health Department, said Friday.
Robert Garff, former speaker of the Utah House and chairman of the Ken Garff Automotive Group, died Sunday from COVID-19, becoming Utah’s third victim.
Garff, 77, and his wife, Katharine, both tested positive for the disease after returning home from a visit to Palm Springs. They immediately self-quarantined, according to a statement from Ken Garff Automotive. He became more ill early last week and went to the hospital. His wife continues to recover at home.
The largest jumps in cases Sunday happened in Salt Lake County, where 45 more residents tested positive; Summit County, which saw 24 new cases; and Utah County, where 20 more cases were confirmed.
Central Utah remains the only area without confirmed cases.
Gov. Gary Herbert on Friday issued a directive encouraging all Utahns to stay home and outlining other measures residents should take to slow the virus’ spread. The directive fell short of a public health order, which can carry a class B misdemeanor under Utah law if violated.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall soon after on Friday gave the directive the “force of the law” in a proclamation for the city.
Salt Lake County announced a new public health order Sunday urging residents to stay at home except for essential travel. The order requires the closure of some businesses that serve as public gathering places and don’t provide services considered essential, including salons and spas, swimming pools, museums, movie theaters, arcades and social clubs.
Grocery stores, pharmacies, religious and charitable institutions, hotels and other essential businesses can stay open, according to the order.
“This order complements both the governor’s directive and the intent of Salt Lake City’s current order. Our collective goal is to save lives and keep our health system from being overwhelmed,” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said in a statement.
“Reducing opportunities for people to congregate is one of the most important things we can do to help ‘flatten the curve’ and minimize stress on our healthcare system. This order strikes the right balance between public and economic health by prohibiting only the business practices most concerning when it comes to transmission of COVID-19,” Wilson said.
A local landfill also announced it is also affected by COVID-19 and will close to all nonessential haulers beginning Monday. The Trans-Jordan Landfill in South Jordan will only remain open to city-operated refuse trucks and commercial haulers with existing accounts that haul waste in a front-loader, side-loader or roll-off container truck, according to landfill management.
A breakdown of the Utah COVID-19 cases by health district:
- Salt Lake County, 321 residents, 3 nonresidents
- Summit County, 151 residents, 8 nonresidents
- Davis County, 69 residents
- Utah County, 50 residents, 1 nonresident
- Wasatch County, 39 residents, 1 nonresident
- Southwest Utah, 14 residents, 1 nonresident
- San Juan County, 4 residents
- Weber-Morgan, 37 residents
- Bear River Health Department, 9 residents
- Tooele County, 9 residents
- TriCounty Health Department, 1 resident
- Southeast Utah, 1 resident
Correction: A previous version said Robert Garff died at age 78. He was 77.
