brhd.org
LOGAN – The second COVID-19 death of a Cache County resident was part of the Bear River Health District’s Wednesday report.
A male over 60 from Cache County who suffered from underlying health conditions died in the hospital. It is the third death in the district, including one earlier of a Box Elder County resident. The other Cache County resident was tested, diagnosed, treated and died in another state.
Of the 20 new COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday in the district, 17 are in Cache County and three in Box Elder County. New cases are also being reported in Bear Lake County and Oneida County in Idaho.
In the nearly four months of the pandemic, there have been 1,624 positive tests recorded in the Bear River Health District with 1,470 in Cache County and 150 in Box Elder in Cache County plus four in Rich County.
There are currently six COVID patients from the district who are hospitalized.
Also Wednesday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert appeared at the Salt Lake International Airport and spoke about plans to open schools on time in August, as he acknowledged recent spikes in the state’s COVID-19 infection rates.
He pointed out Utah’s less-than-one percent coronavirus mortality rate and the state’s 8.5 percent unemployment rate (much lower than most states) as evidence Utah has done “pretty good” during the pandemic.
He spoke to reporters at the UPS facility where he welcomed the arrival of 500,000 cloth masks intended for students and teachers in the state’s schools. State money, corporate donations and federal relief funds paid for the masks.
The 499 new positive COVID-19 tests reported statewide Wednesday indicate the recent spike in infections has not let up.
The Wednesday numbers mean the state’s new caseload is 22,716 positive tests, a daily rate increase of 2.2 percent from yesterday. Also, 21 of the last 22 days have seen 300 or more cases.
Including 2,605 tests administered yesterday, 343,358 Utahns have been tested and the rate of positives is 6.6 percent of the total tested.
With the Cache County death being reported today, 173 Utahns have died from the disease.
There are 12,707 of Utah’s total COVID-19 cases that are considered “recovered.”
With 32 more hospitalizations since yesterday, over the course of the pandemic 1,476 Utahns have been hospitalized with the disease. There are currently 194 positive COVID-19 cases hospitalized.
Idaho’s Tuesday report shows 6,117 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 92 deaths. There have been 25 positive tests in Franklin County while the first positive in Bear Lake County was recorded and there are two cases in Oneida County.