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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and other state leaders said Wednesday they like what they see from the first few weeks of schools reopening in the state, and a group of students stressed the importance of making sacrifices to go back to school in person.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, Herbert said students are leading by example as schools reopen. Students are willing to wear masks, socially distance and take precautions so they can receive their education, he said.
“We're encouraged about what’s taking place," the governor said. "They're leading the way for us."
Also Wednesday, the Utah Department of Health said the number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 407 from Tuesday, with four more deaths reported.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, along with his education adviser, Tami Pyfer, and Utah Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn, spoke at a news conference Wednesday morning. St. George Enterprise High School seniors Dallee Cobb, Dawson Thelin and Broc Gardner also spoke at the event.
Watch the replay of the news conference below. A Spanish language news conference led by Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox will be held Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
New COVID-19 cases
The health department now estimates there are 7,838 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 376, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 8.6%.
The new numbers indicate a 0.8% increase in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 637,329 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 7.9% have tested positive for COVID-19. The number of tests conducted has increased by 6,730 as of Wednesday, according to the health department.
Health department state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said Wednesday that Utahns should be encouraged by the results they are seeing. But she urged people not to stop wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands, or taking precautions that have been proven effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.
“We all need to be really proud of what progress we’ve made and where we’re at," she said. "Let’s stay committed to doing what we know works."
Utah's transmission rate for COVID-19, which measures the likelihood that a person with the disease will spread it to another person, has been at or just below 1.0 for the past several weeks, Dunn said. That means that each Utahn who has the disease is currently likely to pass it on to one person or less.
A laboratory reporting delay that affected testing numbers earlier this week has now been resolved, Dunn said. The delay meant that test results appeared artificially low and positive test rates appeared artificially high on Monday and Tuesday.
One of the health department's major lab partners had a delay in reporting a large number of negative test results to the health department, Dunn said. The issue has been resolved and the backlog of negative tests has now been added to the state's data dashboard.
As of Wednesday, there are 118 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. That is the lowest number of currently hospitalized patients since June 8, when 112 people were hospitalized.
Of the 118 hospitalized Wednesday, 40 are occupying intensive care unit, or ICU, beds in Utah. Overall, about 53% of all Utah ICU beds are occupied as of Wednesday, while about 65% of non-ICU beds are filled, state data shows.
The four deaths reported Wednesday were:
- A Davis County man who was between the ages of 25 and 44. It is unknown if he was hospitalized when he died or if he was a resident of a long-term care facility.
- A Salt Lake County man who was between the ages of 60 and 84, and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Utah County man who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Wasatch County man who was over the age of 85 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
Wednesday's totals give Utah 50,174 total confirmed cases, with 2,996 total hospitalizations and 401 total deaths from the disease. The health department previously reported an incorrect number of total hospitalizations but later clarified that there have been 2,996 total hospitalizations. A total of 41,937 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
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.
Data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district's website.
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.
School year start has been promising, so far
Herbert and other state leaders said Wednesday they are encouraged by the promising start to the school year they've seen, so far.
About 40 school districts had reopened as of Wednesday, Herbert said. All of the school districts in the state have individualized plans for their response to COVID-19. The plans are informed by state guidelines but are tailored to the needs of each district.
Tami Pyfer, Herbert's education adviser, said the feedback they have received from students and teachers has been "overwhelmingly positive."
“We've really been encouraged by the activities and the environments that we’ve seen in schools,” Pyfer said.
Teachers have missed their students, and students have missed their teachers and their friends, Pyfer said. Returning to their education environments has improved social and emotional health for students, she added.
Enterprise High School seniors Dallee Cobb, Dawson Thelin and Broc Gardner also said they believe going back to school is very important, and they are grateful to have the ability to do so in Utah.
Cobb said she doesn't like wearing a mask all day because it is "annoying and uncomfortable," but she is willing to make a sacrifice and put her mask on so she can be at school with her friends and have the opportunity to do extracurricular activities.
She said opinions that parents have on masks are complicating the issue. Before vocalizing their opinions to school or government leaders, parents should first ask their kids what they think about masks, Cobb said. They might be surprised to hear what their students think, she added.
"Our message is that we want to be here," she said. “You don’t understand how important it is to us."
As of Wednesday, there had been 17 COVID-19 outbreaks recorded in Utah since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the health department. Those outbreaks have been tracked and reported since at least June. State data shows there have been approximately six school outbreaks, accounting for 46 COVID-19 cases, in the last two weeks.
A total of 91 cases have been associated with the 17 school outbreaks, with a median age of 17, state data shows. Five people have been hospitalized as a result of those outbreaks.
The health department recommends that if a single classroom has three or more COVID-19 cases, that classroom should consider going virtual for at least two weeks of schooling, according to Dunn. If any single school has 15 or more cases, the entire school should consider going virtual for two weeks.
Health officials have set up a framework for reporting more data on COVID-19 cases in schools as part of the health department's coronavirus dashboard, Dunn added. Since schools just reopened, health officials are still working to make sure the data will be accurate and reliable, so the framework has not debuted yet on the state's site, Dunn said. It will be coming soon, she said.
Testing still down, but positivity rates promising
Herbert and Dunn urged Utahns to get tested for COVID-19 if they have any symptoms of the disease, no matter how minor. Health insurance companies are obligated to cover the cost of testing if it is conducted for a medical reason, such as a person having symptoms or a close contact with a person who has the disease, Dunn said.
However, insurance is not obligated to cover the test cost if it's for a non-medical reason, such as a precautionary test before someone travels out-of-state, she added. People who believe they have been unfairly charged for the cost of a test can email covid19testingcoverage@utah.gov for assistance.
The positive test percentage health officials are aiming for is 3%, Dunn said. With Utah's percentage at 7.9% overall as of Wednesday, there is still a lot of work to do. Dunn said the state's rolling average for positive test rate is trending down, and she is hopeful the state can continue in that direction.
“We thank everybody for their cooperation," Herbert added. "If we all do a little, we’ll all do a lot together."
