FILE – An employee takes a sample to test a person for COVID-19 in a drive-thru testing facility Monday, April 6, 2020. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. The vast majority of people recover from the COVID-19 disease. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
LOGAN – Saturday, Utah reported another new one-day record of 643 positive COVID-19 cases, on a day when State Epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn called the recent numbers ”sobering.”
“For three straight weeks now our cases have been increasing at a rate that isn’t sustainable,” she said Saturday. “We are at risk of overwhelming our hospital capacity, which could result in Utahns not getting the medical care they need.
“We continue to contact trace, test, evaluate data, and provide policy-makers with evidence-based recommendations. As they engage more with the economy, Utah residents must do their part by limiting their number of close contacts through good physical distancing, wearing a mask when physical distancing is not possible, staying home if you are sick and washing your hands regularly.”
Saturday’s 643 cases shattered Friday’s all time record of 586.
It’s now been that 10 of the last 11 days have see more than 300 new cases, continuing a trend of elevated numbers recently.
The Bear River Health Department’s Saturday report of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in the district shows 43 new ones, 40 in Cache County, three in Box Elder County and none in Rich County.
The new caseload totals after more than three months of the pandemic: 1,348 for the district, 1,245 in Cache County, 100 in Box Elder County and three in Rich County.
The 643 new positive tests statewide reported Saturday means the new statewide caseload of 17,068 marks a daily rate increase of 3.9 percent from yesterday.
Including 5,519 tests administered yesterday, 292,877 Utahns have been tested and the rate of positives is 5.8 percent of the total tested.
There have been 155 COVID deaths, the same total as yesterday.
There are 9,390 of Utah’s total COVID-19 cases that are considered “recovered.”
With 16 more hospitalizations since yesterday, 152 positive cases are now in the hospital.
The Friday night Idaho report shows 3,871 confirmed COVID-19 cases and still 89 deaths. The Franklin County caseload grew to 16 positives while there are none in Bear Lake and Oneida counties.