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SALT LAKE CITY — A day after the Utah Department of Health reported 546 new positive cases of COVID-19, Sunday's tally reveals new cases have dropped to 268.
That brings Utah's total to 12,066 cases since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported Sunday, keeping the state total at 121.
The health department estimates that 7,108 Utahns have recovered from COVID-19. In an email, health department spokesman Tom Hudachko said 118 Utahns are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 and total hospitalizations for the disease in the state have hit an even 900.
Hudachko said an additional 2,802 have been reported over yesterday's numbers, and the total rate of positive tests in Utah now stands at 5.1%.
While the numbers dropped on Sunday, case growth has accelerated rapidly in the past week. Both Friday and Saturday brought new single-day highs for cases reported in the state.
Many of those cases were associated with a meat processing facility in the Bear River Health District, which includes Cache, Box Elder and Rich counties, health officials said Friday.
Before that, state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said Wednesday the recent case spike is "not easily explained by a single outbreak or increase in testing."
"This is a statewide trend," she said.
Utah's public health officials are very concerned about the rise in COVID-19 cases this past week. When you're away from home, please avoid close contact with others, and wear a mask when other social distancing measures aren't feasible. pic.twitter.com/msZCjnZwCk
— Utah Dept. of Health (@UtahDepOfHealth) June 5, 2020
Salt Lake County alone has recorded 6,182 of the state's total coronavirus cases. Salt Lake City is one of the few areas in the state still under moderate risk guidance; the rest of Utah is following yellow, or low-risk, guidelines as outlined by the state's phased reopening plan.
One week ago, Utah had 9,797 total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began; nearly 19% of Utah's total cases have been reported in the past seven days.
Health department data shows 555 of the state's cases have been reported among residents or workers in long-term care facilities, resulting in 52 resident deaths.
