Utah reports five new deaths as other COVID-19 trends continue to decline



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With 263 new coronavirus cases reported on Tuesday, the rate of new diagnoses in Utah continued its five-day decline, remaining well below the governor’s target of less than 400 cases per day.

Over the past seven days, Utah has recorded an average of 341 new positive test results per day, the Utah Department of Health reported Monday. Gov. Gary Herbert had said he wanted the state to drop below 400 new cases a day by September 1.

Statewide, Utah’s positive test rate has been above 5% since May 25, according to UDOH data.

There were 4,721 new test results reported on Monday, above the week-long average of 3,864 new tests per day. But demand for tests has been declining since late July, state officials and hospital administrators said; by mid-July, the state was reporting an average of more than 7,000 new test results per day.

Hospitalizations remained down on Tuesday after a steep drop on Monday, with 134 Utah patients admitted simultaneously, UDOH reported – the lowest number since mid-June.

On average, 165 patients have been treated in Utah hospitals each day over the past week – up slightly from the start of this week, but below the peak average of 211 inpatients there is a little more than two weeks.

A total of 2,804 patients have been hospitalized in Utah for COVID-19, up 22 from Monday.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Utah stood at 369 on Tuesday, with five deaths reported since Sunday:

  • Salt Lake County man, aged 25 to 44, died in hospital.
  • A woman from Salt Lake County, aged 45 to 64, who lived in a long-term care facility.
  • A woman from Salt Lake County, aged 65 to 84, who was not hospitalized when she died.
  • A man from Box Elder County, over 85, who lived in a long-term care facility.
  • A Weber County woman, aged 65 to 84, died in a hospital.

Out of 47,157 Utahns who tested positive for COVID-19, 38,555 are considered “cured,” meaning that they survived for at least three weeks after being diagnosed.



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