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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Gary Herbert acknowledged Thursday that there are things about the state's COVID-19 pandemic response that could have been handled better.
But the governor said he likes the direction Utah is heading, despite the state experiencing a current spike in COVID-19 cases centered around Utah County.
“It’s a challenging time … but we’re making headway," Herbert said.
During his weekly COVID-19 news conference, Herbert responded to a Wednesday audit from State Auditor John Dougall, which criticized the state's preparation and response to the pandemic. He also said data shows cases in Utah County are starting to stabilize, which may be in part due to restrictions in Provo and Orem and a Utah County-wide mask requirement.
Thursday, Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases increased by 1,008 from Wednesday, with no new deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 987, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 13.6%.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert provided a COVID-19 update at a news conference Thursday morning. Dr. Clark Bishop, a critical care and pulmonary medicine physician at Utah Valley Hospital, also spoke at the event.
Watch the replay of the news conference below.
New COVID-19 cases
The health department now estimates there are 18,081 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah. The new numbers indicate a 1.3% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 836,218 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 8.9% have tested positive for COVID-19. The health department reported an increase of 6,248 tests conducted as of Thursday.
There are currently 201 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 76 in intensive care unit, or ICU, beds across the state, health department data shows. About 70% of all ICU beds in the state are filled as of Thursday, while about 53% of non-ICU beds are occupied.
Herbert said Thursday that COVID-19 patients make up about 14% of the patients occupying all of the state's ICU beds, of which there are about 550 statewide. That number is up from 6-7% earlier in the pandemic, but the state's current COVID-19 spike has meant people infected with the disease are now making up a larger share of Utah's ICU patients.
Thursday's totals give Utah 74,050 total confirmed cases, with 3,882 total hospitalizations and 459 total deaths from the disease. A total of 55,510 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
Despite the more than 1,000 new cases reported Thursday, the current COVID-19 spike, which is thought to have originated in younger people in Utah County, is showing signs of stabilization, Herbert said.
Provo and Orem were moved back to the orange, moderate restriction level for COVID-19 last week as health officials sought to curtail the spike. Herbert said it appears that has worked to slow the spread in that area, along with a county-wide mask mandate enacted by the Utah County Commission.
People are taking the spike more seriously and are taking precautions to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Utah County, Herbert added. Health officials may be able to look at lightening restrictions in Provo and Orem once again if people continue taking precautions, he said.
"I hope that trend continues," he said.
Herbert responds to COVID-19 audit
On Wednesday, Utah State Auditor John Dougall released a 33-page examination of the $108 million the state of Utah has spent on COVID-19 expenses during the pandemic.
The audit characterizes the state’s preparation for the pandemic as inadequate and says the state’s response has sometimes suffered from a lack of a clear chain of command.
Herbert acknowledged state leaders could have done a lot of things better. But in the "fog of war" early in the pandemic, when there was confusion around the novel virus and conflicting information from the medical community, leaders had to act quickly and may not have made the best decision looking back, the governor said.
“There’s no end to people being willing to criticize," he said.
Herbert said he has heard people say that before the pandemic, everything state leaders do will feel alarmist, but during the pandemic, it will seem like they haven't done enough.
"The truth is probably somewhere in the middle," he said.
The audit is critical of some controversial contracts the state entered into, including an $800,000 purchase of hydroxychloroquine that was subsequently canceled, as well as deals for the TestUtah initiative and the Healthy Together app.
Herbert maintained that he believes Utah taxpayers have gotten their money's worth throughout the pandemic.
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.
