SALT LAKE CITY — After Utah confirmed about a third of its total COVID-19 cases since the outbreak began within the last two weeks alone, Gov. Gary Herbert issued a plea Monday for more Utahns to wear face masks.
“While many have heeded this call, we can still all help one another to do better,” Herbert said in a statement.
“During the coming days and months, it will remain critical for everyone to wear masks. Of course, the habit of wearing a face mask when out in public is not always easy to remember, and all of us are still working to remember to implement these best practices. We hope that all Utahns understand the importance of wearing a mask, and will be diligent in their efforts to wear one,” he said.
Also on Monday, the Utah Department of Health for the first time released breakdowns of hospital resources currently in use and aggregate data on workplaces in the state with outbreaks.
Current hospital capacity
In Utah, 13 more people required hospitalization for the disease. Current patients hospitalized with the virus totaled 137 on Monday, the same number as Sunday.
Of those patients, 72 are in intensive care units, according to state health department data. Just under 62% of all intensive care unit beds are occupied, while 50.1% of non-ICU beds are in use.
Just under 200 of the 1,298 ventilators at hospitals throughout the state are in use by patients with COVID-19 and others.
The average age of the 1,041 people who have required hospital care for the novel coronavirus in Utah since the pandemic hit is 53.8, while the median age is 55. Just over half of the hospitalized cases had underlying conditions, and 62.5% were considered at high risk.
Outbreaks
Outbreaks at long-term care facilities, where 62 of the state’s deaths have occurred, have been reported for several weeks by the state health department. But data on all of the other settings in Utah that have faced outbreaks of the coronavirus was not released until Monday.
Workplace outbreaks at 226 different locations have accounted for 1,776 cases and 10 deaths, which is more than have occurred in any other known setting other than households, according to the data.
Meanwhile, outbreaks at nine hospitals and clinics have resulted in 32 cases, while the same number of outbreaks at group living facilities led to 289 cases. Fewer than five deaths have occurred in each of those settings.
Other locations with outbreaks:
- Detention facilities, 9 outbreaks, 72 cases, 0 deaths.
- Schools, 3 outbreaks, 54 cases, 0 deaths.
- Day care facilities, 4 outbreaks, 19 cases, 0 deaths
- Other settings, 7 outbreaks, 44 cases, 0 deaths.
The names of businesses and facilities where outbreaks have occurred have not been released.
New cases, deaths
Utah’s COVID-19 cases rose by 295 on Monday, a smaller number than the previous five days.
Sunday brought 332 new cases, after 404 were confirmed on Saturday, 325 on Friday, 388 on Thursday, and 305 on Wednesday. While no new deaths were reported over the weekend, eight were confirmed on Friday, making it one of Utah’s highest single-day death tolls. Three deaths were reported on Thursday and one on Wednesday.
Since last Monday, an average of 293 cases were confirmed each day, compared to 303 the previous week, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Monday’s cases were confirmed as 5,225 people received tests, a positive rate of about 5.6%. Now, 14,608 people have tested positive for the virus out of 272,938 since the pandemic hit Utah, an overall positive rate of about 5.4%.
Four more people died in Utah with the novel coronavirus, bringing the state’s toll to 143.
Two were Washington County residents — a man between 18 and 60, and another man between 60 and 85. Both were hospitalized when they died.
The other deaths were a San Juan County man between 18 and 65 who was hospitalized when he died; and a Salt Lake County man between the ages of 60 and 85 who was a resident in a long-term care facility.
Now, 8,380 Utahns are considered recovered from the disease after passing the three-week point since their diagnoses.
The latest breakdown of Utah cases, hospitalizations and deaths by health district:
- Salt Lake County, 7,468; 594 hospitalized; 94 deaths.
- Utah County, 2,654; 137 hospitalized; 19 deaths.
- Bear River (Box Elder, Cache, Rich), 1,009; 34 hospitalized; 2 deaths.
- Southwest Utah, 827; 62 hospitalized; 7 deaths.
- Davis County, 672; 57 hospitalized; 4 deaths.
- Summit County, 447; 40 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Weber-Morgan, 511; 49 hospitalized; 9 deaths.
- San Juan County, 363; 36 hospitalized; 6 deaths.
- Wasatch County, 351; 16 hospitalized; 2 deaths.
- Tooele County, 170; 10 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Central Utah, 77; 5 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Southeast Utah, 29; 0 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- TriCounty (Uinta Basin), 30; 1 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
Correction: A previous version said just under 200 ventilators were in use by COVID-19 patients in Utah. That is the number of ventilators in use by COVID-19 patients and others.