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With 263 new cases of coronavirus reported on Tuesday, the rate of Utah’s new diagnosis went through a five-day decline, remaining well below the governor’s goal of less than 400 cases per day.
Over the past seven days, Utah has averaged 341 new positive test results per day, the Utah Department of Health reported on Monday. Gov. Gary Herbert had said he wanted the state to receive less than 400 new cases a day by Sept. 1.
Statewide, the rate of positive testing in Utah has been above 5% since May 25, according to UDOH data.
There were 4,721 new test results reported on Monday, above the weekend average of 3,864 new tests per day. But demand for testing has dropped since late July, officials and hospital administrators have said; as of mid-July, the state reported more than 7,000 new test results per day, on average.
Hospital stays continued on Tuesday after a sharp decline Monday, with 134 Utah patients admitted at the same time, UDOH reported – the lowest number since mid-June.
On average, 165 patients received treatment every day in Utah hospitals over the past week – slightly up from the beginning of this week, but below the peak average of 211 patients who were hospitalized a little over two weeks ago.
A total of 2,804 patients were admitted to Utah Hospital for COVID-19, up 22 from Monday.
Utah’s death toll from coronavirus rose to 369 on Tuesday, with five deaths reported since Sunday:
- A Salt Lake County man, aged 25 to 44, who died in a hospital.
- A Salt Lake County woman, ages 45 to 64, who lived in a long-term care facility.
- A Salt Lake County woman, age 65 to 84, who was not hospitalized when she died.
- A Box Elder County man, over 85, living in a long-term care facility.
- A woman from Weber County, aged 65 to 84, who died in a hospital.
Of the 47,157 Utahns who tested positive for COVID-19, 38,555 were considered “recovered” – that is, they survived at least three weeks after diagnosis.
