Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — In its daily update on the coronavirus in Utah, the Department of Health is reporting 920 new positive tests and no new deaths.
That brings Utah to 63,772 total confirmed COVID-19 cases and keeps it at 440 deaths since the pandemic began.
Utah's case numbers have grown at a rapid pace in the last week. The state had never seen a day of 1,000-plus new cases before topping that figure on both Friday and Saturday. Utah's seven-day average of new cases is now 835, and the positive test percentage during that time is 13.1%.
The state's goal is to keep daily cases under an average of 400; it had been meeting that threshold until the recent spike began after Labor Day, possibly fueled by holiday recreation as well as by the return of many Utah students to physical classrooms. Officials have pointed to Utah County students and young adults in particular as possible drivers of the spike.
Of the new cases reported Sunday, 416 were from Utah County and 336 were from Salt Lake County. Overall, the two counties together have accounted for just under 69% of the state's COVID-19 cases.
Currently, the health department says 141 Utahns are hospitalized for COVID-19. Seventy-one percent of the state's intensive care beds are currently occupied, as are 52% of the state's beds overall.
Of the total cases reported in the state so far, 51,410 are considered recovered.
State leaders and health officials will again brief the public on the coronavirus situation during a news conference this week; the conference generally occurs on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Methodology:
Test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after they are confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported for 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since Utah's outbreak began, including those who are currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Deaths reported by the state typically occurred two to seven days prior to when they are reported, according to the health department. Some deaths may be from even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but has died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed and probable COVID-19 case deaths per the case definition outlined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The death counts are subject to change as case investigations are completed.
Data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district's website.
Information is from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health compiles and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and scroll down to the "Data Notes" section at the bottom of the page.
