SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s relatively young population may be helping to keep COVID-19 deaths at bay.
The highest percentage of cases is still found in the youngest population ages 25 to 44 in Utah, but it is not they who die, according to data from the Utah Department of Health. Deaths are occurring more easily in people over 65 in Utah, and especially in people over 85 who get the virus.
“COVID-19 has been especially lethal for the elderly,” notes a report released Wednesday by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. Mortality rates, the analysis continues, “appear to increase exponentially with age, as is common in death rates.”
Utah, however, has one of the lowest death rates per capita in the country, but it also has the youngest median age of 31.3, according to the report. The average age in the United States is 38.4.
Research indicates that if Utah’s average age were closer to the national average, the state’s COVID-19 death rate would increase by 50% to 10.1 per 100,000 people. Conversely, if the age structure of the country was similar to that of Utah, there could be a third fewer deaths in the U.S.
The United States has experienced the highest number of deaths in the world as a result of the new coronavirus, surpassing 150,000 on Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.
In Utah, 292 people have so far died from the virus and its complications.
Six new deaths
Six other Utah deaths were reported Wednesday, as well as 339 new cases of COVID-19, including positive antigen tests, bringing the total number of infections in Utah to 39,194, and an estimated 26,643 cases reportedly recovered.
The seven-day moving average for positive tests is 511 per day, with a positivity rate of 9.8%. Utah Governor Gary Herbert has challenged Utah to reduce the moving average to less than 500 by August 1 or is potentially facing further government action.
Recently reported deaths include four in Salt Lake County, including two men, one older than 85 and one between 65 and 84; and two women, both between the ages of 65 and 84. The two men and one woman were residents in long-term care facilities at the time of their death. A Utah county man between the ages of 45 and 64, a long-term care resident, also died. And a Weber County man between the ages of 65 and 84 was hospitalized at the time of his death.
As of Wednesday, 208 were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah, occupying nearly 70% of all beds in intensive care units.
The state has screened 518,191 people for the coronavirus.
Most of the state remains in a low-risk or yellow category, although Herbert has said the color-coded guideline is more about financial status than individual risk of disease. Salt Lake City is still designated as a moderate or orange risk category. A public health order requires covering your face in public in Salt Lake, Summit and Grand counties.
Some more rural areas of the state, where social distancing is commonly practiced, have gone green and have fewer restrictions than the rest of the state, although these areas also have far fewer confirmed cases of COVID-19.
This week, Herbert updated state guidelines that allow 24-hour restaurants to open, as well as buffet meals.
Utah County Application
The governor also issued a mandate for students, teachers, staff, and visitors to wear masks inside public schools when they open in the coming weeks.
Many Utah county residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the school’s mandate and hoped to address the rule during the Utah County Commission meeting on Wednesday. However, the item was removed from the agenda after it was determined that it had been wrongly added. People took up arms in action, also expressing concern about the way the mandate violates their rights and the rights of their children.
The commission does not have the authority to make changes to the public health order statewide. Commissioner Bill Lee wrote a letter to the region’s director of public health asking him to apply for state permission “for a compassionate exemption for the one-size-fits-all mandate,” he said Wednesday before the regular meeting.
Lee, however, said he will continue to wear a mask where social distancing is not possible.
The use of masks and other preventive measures have contributed to Utah’s low COVID-19 related death rate, the Gardner Policy Institute report shows. The report credits the state’s age discrepancy for only a quarter of its mortality rate advantage over other states, adding that the prevention, response, and treatment of the highly contagious virus have probably also played a role.
Summit success
The Summit County Health Department reported Wednesday that its mask mandate has, in fact, resulted in a reduction in new COVID-19 cases since it was implemented on July 10.
“The data is clear: The use of a face covering slows the spread of COVID-19 in our communities,” said Dr. Rich Bullough, Summit County Health Director. “Our fall and winter health and economic outlook is much more favorable if we can sustain this trend through community effort.”
He said “the county’s efforts are clearly paying off.”
Despite any progress the state experienced at the start of this pandemic, the U. report notes that “the numbers are continually growing.”
Herbert has decided against a statewide mask mandate, saying that local jurisdictions have a better understanding of what is best for their constituents. He also said he trusts Utahns to choose to “do the right thing” by choosing to wear a mask.
“If we are not careful, Utah could teeter on the cusp of a death wave that eventually rivals or even exceeds the patterns seen for the United States,” the report said. The state is doing well on “metrics like employment and volunteering, in part because Utah leaders and residents work to thrive those metrics.
“In this public health crisis, our results will depend greatly on how wisely Utahns respond to the guidance of experts who have training and experience in managing epidemics,” the report notes. Tracking cases and outbreaks, quarantining and implementing other proven public health measures “will help Utah weather the storm effectively.”
Utah’s latest breakdown of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths by health district:
- Salt Lake County, 18,575; 1,207 hospitalized; 166 deaths.
- Utah County, 7,483; 353 hospitalized; 32 deaths.
- Southwest Utah, 2,827; 157 hospitalized; 24 deaths.
- Davis County, 2,819; 160 hospitalized; 12 deaths.
- Weber-Morgan, 2,480; 152 hospitalized; 25 deaths.
- Bear River (Box Elder, Cache, Rich), 2,113; 87 hospitalized; 5 deaths
- Summit County, 679; 52 hospitalized; 1 death
- San Juan County, 596; 76 hospitalized; 22 deaths.
- Wasatch County, 522; 20 hospitalized; 4 deaths.
- Tooele County, 518; 26 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Central Utah, 357; 20 hospitalized; 1 death
- TriCounty (Uinta Basin), 146; 8 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
- Southeast Utah, 79; 6 hospitalized; 0 deaths.
