Estimated read time: 5-6 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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 — Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled an updated statewide plan Wednesday regarding how Utah handles COVID-19. The new plan comes as the number of coronavirus cases in Utah increased by 192 cases from Tuesday, with two new reported deaths, according to new Utah Department of Health figures.
Herbert said the new Utah Leads Together 3.0 plan will build off of previous versions released in March and April. It adds instructions for high-risk individuals, addresses impacts on multicultural communities, and creates new “seeds” for recovery from coronavirus impacts.
"We are very concerned about the vulnerable population, as we have a disproportionate amount of people aged 65 and over that have passed away," Herbert said.
Byron Russell, co-chair of the Utah Multicultural Commission, added that Utah's minorities have also been adversely affected, which feeds into the plan.
State sees more COVID-19 cases
The state health department released its latest data just before Herbert spoke. There are now 7,710 total confirmed cases in Utah. The state also reports 631 total hospitalizations and 90 total deaths from the disease. Previously, there were 7,518 cases in the state.
The new numbers show a 2.6% increase in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 179,664 tests conducted in Utah so far, 4.3% were 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.
State health officials reported an estimated 3,197 active cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, which is a little more than 41% of the total cases to date. The state reported an estimated 3,155 active cases on Tuesday. An estimated 4,423 people have recovered from COVID-19 and 100 Utahns remain hospitalized.
Health officials said the two latest coronavirus-related deaths were a Salt Lake County woman and a Utah County man. Both were between the ages of 60 and 85. The woman who died was a resident of a long-term care facility; health officials didn't know the man's hospitalization status, or possible status at a long-term care facility.
Herbert said 90% of Utah's COVID-19 deaths were residents aged 65 years and older and/or had underlying medical conditions.
New data released by the state found states Utahns who become infected with COVID-19 and are 65 or older are 300% more likely to be hospitalized. Those with diabetes are 250% more likely to be hospitalized, and those with a chronic kidney condition are 150% more likely to be hospitalized if infected. Those who are immunocompromised or have cardiovascular disease also have a hospitalization risk estimated at 60% or above.
2 new counties seek to go "yellow"
Even as new cases arise, the state's COVID-19 situation is improving faster than first anticipated, Herbert said. State leaders first expected it may take 8 to 12 weeks to get to stabilization; they reached it in 5 weeks.
Most of the state is now in the "yellow," or low-risk phase of recovery, and the list of places in yellow is expected to grow soon. Summit and Wasatch counties have asked the state health department to move into the low-risk phase, and Herbert said there is a hope that may happen by the end of the week.
"That's a credit to many people: the people of Utah following good guidelines and common sense application of their hygiene, social distancing, weaving masks — those kinds of things," Herbert said, adding that he believes Utah's economic situation is also in a good position.
It doesn't mean it's time to spike the football or declare victory, but it does give us assurance with confidence that we're going to move forward, that we're going to have a positive outcome in protecting people's lives and their livelihoods too.
–Gov. Gary Herbert
"It doesn't mean it's time to spike the football or declare victory,” Herbert said, “but it does give us assurance with confidence that we're going to move forward, that we're going to have a positive outcome in protecting people's lives and their livelihoods too."
Herbert added there is hope the state will get to green, or new normal, "as fast as possible." That decision, he said, will be made through data because the state doesn't want to "jeopardize the progress we've made" fighting the coronavirus.
State epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said the current data currently doesn't support moving to green but acknowledged that may change soon even without an exact timeline about it yet.
"In recent weeks, we've been kind of going between a plateau and then some instability, in terms of increases and decreases over the days, so we're working with each jurisdiction to identify where they are, specifically, so we can work with the specific health district on policies related to that geography," she explained.
State releases new guideline plan
Utah has had a go-to guideline plan called "Utah Leads Together" since mid-March. It was updated on April 17, and now again Wednesday. The previous plans added phases for recovery and a color-coded risk dial for the state. The newest version, which includes a deeper look at at-risk populations, likely won’t be the final version of the statewide plan, state officials added.
In addition to numbers showing those with underlying health conditions are more at risk for hospitalization, the state's data also shows minorities have a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases in Utah.
For example, the state reports that Utah's Hispanic/Latino population makes up 14.2% of the state's population and 38% of COVID-19 cases. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, which count for 1.6% of the state's population, make up another 3.5% of Utah's cases; black and African-American Utahns represent 3.2% of cases despite accounting for 2.1% of the population.
Russell said he hopes that having a plan that addresses the minority population will help address the disproportionate statistics.
"As we looked at what we're doing in this community, we realize that our state is well ahead of other states in addressing our multicultural communities, more than a lot of other states are making that effort," he said. "(The state plan) truly saves lives and livelihoods."
#FB_live
