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SALT LAKE CITY — One day after reaching a new high-water mark for COVID-19 cases reported in a day at 343, the Utah Department of Health announced an additional 269 Utahns have tested positive since Friday, with five added deaths.
That brings the state to 9,533 total positive cases since the pandemic began; 5,995 of those cases are considered to have recovered by the health department, meaning they tested positive at least three weeks ago and did not die of the disease.
The deaths bring Utah's total to 112 people.
In an email, health department spokesperson Jenny Johnson said four of the deaths are new and one was a previously reported death that, after further investigation, was determined to be coronavirus-related.
Three of the new deaths were Salt Lake County residents: a woman between ages 60 and 84, a man over age 85, and a man younger than 60. The fourth was a Weber County woman older than 85.
All four are reported to have had underlying health conditions.
Ninety-nine Utahns are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, the health department said.
Though Friday brought a large new caseload, health officials said they don't put too much weight on daily numbers; rather, they are watching trends over days and weeks to gauge the state's position.
"I would caution against jumping to conclusions on what this particular data point might mean," said state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn in a statement Friday. "One day does not make a trend."
After West Valley City, Magna and Grand County moved to the "yellow," low-risk level on Friday, the only Utah cities still at "orange" risk are Salt Lake, Bluff and Mexican Hat.
