Utah sees 295 new cases of COVID-19, 4 new deaths

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's positive COVID-19 test rate was down slightly last week, but the overall positive rate has climbed to tie its previous pandemic high.

The number of COVID-19 cases increased by 295 in Utah from Sunday, with four new reported deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.

Monday's totals give Utah 14,608 total confirmed cases, with 1,041 total hospitalizations and 143 total deaths from the disease. Previously, there were 14,313 cases in the state.

Utah’s recent spike in COVID-19 cases

The new numbers indicate a 2.1% increase in positive cases since Sunday. Of the 272,938 tests conducted in Utah so far, 5.4% were positive for COVID-19.

That rate ties the highest previous recorded positive test rate, which was also 5.4% on April 16, according to state data.

There were 5,225 tests conducted between Sunday and Monday.

From June 9-15, there were 2,049 new cases reported, averaging about 293 per day, the health department reported. There were 26,078 tests conducted during that time, and the positive test rate was about 7.9%, according to the health department.

The week before that, from June 2-8, there were 2,120 new cases reported, averaging about 303 per day. There were 21,108 tests conducted that week, for a positive test rate of about 10%, the health department reports.

Health officials have been investigating a statewide spike in COVID-19 cases since Memorial Day. There have been 200-300 new cases daily during the spike, with some days seeing 400-500 or more.

However, there were no deaths reported over the weekend before four deaths were reported Monday.

4 deaths reported Monday

Two of the people who died were men from Washington County and were hospitalized when they died, the health department reported. One was between the ages of 18 and 60 and the other was between the ages of 60 and 85.

The third person who died was a man from San Juan County who was hospitalized when he died. He was between the ages of 18 and 60, according to the health department. The fourth reported death was a man from Salt Lake County who was a long-term care facility resident. He was between the ages of 60 and 85, according to the health department.

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 health department estimates there are now 6,085 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah. Another 8,380 cases are estimated recoveries, the department reported. Anyone who was diagnosed with the disease three or more weeks ago who has not died is considered recovered from COVID-19.

Thirteen more people were hospitalized between Sunday and Monday, and there are currently 137 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah, the health department reports.

Hospital beds and outbreak data

The state's coronavirus dashboard was expanded with new data sets Monday. The site now includes the percentages of hospital beds being used in Utah.

As of Monday, about 62% of hospital beds in intensive care units were occupied statewide, and about 50.5% of non-intensive care unit beds were occupied, according to the state's website.

The site has also been updated to show statistics on COVID-19 outbreaks outside households. Those include outbreaks in workplaces, hospitals and clinics, group homes, detention facilities, schools, daycares and other settings. Data on long-term care facility outbreaks has previously been available on the site.

There have been 226 outbreaks in workplaces, according to the health department. Those have led to 1,776 cases of COVID-19, 92 hospitalizations and 10 deaths.

No other non-household setting has reported more than 10 outbreaks, according to the health department.

There is no COVID-19 news conference expected today. Utah health officials provide updates once a week on Wednesday or Thursday.

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