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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 195 from Thursday, with no new reported deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Friday’s totals give Utah 5,919 confirmed cases, with 488 total hospitalizations and 61 total deaths from the disease. Previously, there were 5,724 total cases reported in the state.
The new numbers indicate a 3.4% increase in positive cases since Thursday. As of Thursday, there were 92 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Utah, according to the health department.
Thursday was the sixth straight day that health officials have categorized as indicating a plateau in cases, according to state data. Days can be classified as growth, decline or plateau based on the rate and number of cases, according to health department data.
Some of the data the state provides, including recoveries and hospitalizations, are made available for the previous day, so information from Thursday is the most recent data available.
There were 4,145 more tests conducted between Thursday and Friday, the health department said. Of the 138,688 people tested in Utah so far, 4.3% have tested positive for COVID-19.
The total number of cases reported by the health department includes all cases of COVID-19 since Utah’s outbreak began, including those who are infected now, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died.
Utah health officials said earlier this week the department is working with the Navajo Nation to address a COVID-19 outbreak there. The health department is providing testing resources and some guidance to Navajo Nation leaders.
The 14-day incidence rate for San Juan County, where a small part of the Navajo Nation lies in Utah, is still listed as high, according to the health department. That means that at least 100 cases have been diagnosed in that county in the last 14 days.
American Indian and native Alaskans account for about 2.7% of the COVID-19 cases in Utah, according to state data. Those populations make up about 2.3% of the state's overall population.
State data shows Hispanics and Latinos are still disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Those people account for about 37% of the cases of the disease, despite making up just 14.2% of the state's population.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert previously asked the state's Public Health and Economic Emergency Commission, a group created to advise the governor's office on pandemic-related policies, to come back with recommendations on how to protect people who are at a high risk for the disease, such as minorities, people over the age of 65, and people with underlying health conditions.
The commission approved a plan that addresses that concern on Thursday, according to a news release.
The plan emphasizes that even though the state has transitioned to the orange, moderate risk phase of the Utah Leads Together 2.0 plan, people who are more vulnerable to the disease should still behave as if Utah was in the red, high-risk phase.
“As we carefully transition to a lower risk status and continue to thoroughly consider new data, it is critical that we prevent the spread of the virus to individuals who are more vulnerable,” said Maj. Gen. Jefferson Burton, co-chair of the commission and acting director of the Utah Department of Health.
As of Friday, a total of 2,769 are now estimated to have recovered from COVID-19 in Utah. Anyone who was diagnosed with the disease three or more weeks ago and has not died is considered recovered.
There is not a COVID-19 news conference expected Friday. The next news conference with Utah health officials is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
