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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health is reporting 350 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Utah Sunday.
That brings Utah to 37,973 total confirmed cases of COVID-19. No deaths were reported Sunday, leaving the state's total at 274.
Sunday's total is significantly lower than average daily case counts over the past several weeks. The health department says 5,212 new individuals were tested.
With the numbers, Utah's seven-day rolling average of new cases is at 541 — just above the 500 average that Gov. Gary Herbert would like to see by Aug. 1. He has suggested he may impose additional restrictions on the state if the goal is not met.
The seven-day positive test percentage is at 9.1%.
The health department says 210 Utahns are currently hospitalized for COVID-19. Between coronavirus patients and all others, Utah is using 47% of its total hospital capacity and 62% of its intensive care unit capacity, according to health department calculations.
Of Sunday's new cases, 124 are from Salt Lake County and 96 are from Utah County. The Weber-Morgan Health District had 39 cases, Davis County had 35 and Southwest Utah's count grew by just 17.
Though people of color continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden of Utah's coronavirus counts, their share is slightly declining. Specifically Hispanics and Latinos — who once accounted for more than 40% of the state's cases and a greater share than the white population despite making up just 14% of all Utahns — now account for 38.8% of Utah's cases, while white Utahns account for 39.1%. Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders make up nearly 4% of Utah's cases but only 1.6% of its population.
Just over half of one percent of Utah's confirmed cases have been fatal so far — a rate far better than the numbers posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates 4,163,892 American cases and 145,942 total deaths in the U.S., a mortality rate of 3.5%.
Methodology:
Test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after they are confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported for 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since Utah's outbreak began, including those who are currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Deaths reported by the state typically occurred two to seven days prior to when they are reported, according to the health department. Some deaths may be from even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but has died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed and probable COVID-19 case deaths per the case definition outlined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The death counts are subject to change as case investigations are completed.
Information is from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health compiles and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and scroll down to the "Data Notes" section at the bottom of the page.
