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SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah celebrated Memorial Day amid the pandemic, 129 new cases of coronavirus and one new death was reported by the Utah Department of Health.
Monday’s totals give Utah 8,521 total confirmed cases and 98 total deaths from the disease. Previously, there were 8,392 cases in the state.
Of the total reported cases, 5,218 of these cases are considered recovered by the Utah Department of Health, meaning they were diagnosed more than three weeks ago and have not died. The health department estimates there are currently 3,205 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah.
Four new hospitalizations were reported, bringing Utah's total active coronavirus hospitalizations to 95, and total cumulative hospitalizations to 692.
The new numbers indicate a 1.5% increase in positive cases since Sunday. Of the 196,468 total tests conducted in Utah so far, 4.3% were positive for COVID-19.
The woman who died was a Cache County resident over the age of 85, the health department confirmed.
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.
The new cases come as people across the country attend Memorial Day festivities which are drawing concerns of crowds and disregard for social distancing.
The holiday's focus on memorializing veterans also takes on new meaning as the virus has taken a harsh toll on the demographic. Veterans are often older, live in nursing homes that have become breeding grounds for infections, or have underlying health conditions, all of which mark increased mortality risks for COVID-19. The Department of Veterans Affairs has confirmed that over 1,000 veterans have already died of coronavirus.
In Utah, the holiday comes a week and a half after the state's transition to "yellow," or low risk in their reopening plan. Certain areas, such as Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Magna, Bluff, Mexican Hat and all of Grand County, are still under moderate risk guidelines.
Socially-distant flag raisings, grave visitations, and digital memorials have replaced many canceled holiday programs.
The death toll for the U.S. is also nearing 100,000, though a downward trend in mortalities has been consistent since April.
Editor's note: This story originally said the new numbers indicated a 2.2% decrease. This article has been updated to correctly state the new numbers indicate a 1.5% increase.
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Katie Workman
