Louie Brown and her son Nico, 3, feed a giraffe as they wear their masks at Utah’s Hogle Zoo Thursday, July 30, 2020, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah health officials reported nine more confirmed deaths from COVID-19 on Monday but the weekly average for new cases dropped to the lowest level in two months.
The state has averaged 400 cases per day over the last week — the lowest weekly average since mid-June, state data shows. Cases spiked up to a high of 671 per week in mid-July, but have been steadily falling in recent weeks.
State leaders have stopped short of implementing a statewide mask mandate, but allowed counties to make that move while imploring residents to wear face coverings when out in public.
Salt Lake County’s mask mandate has been in place since late June.
The positive rate for tests was 8.9% Monday — down from 10.4% on July 16, state figures show.
The decline comes as schools prepare to start again in a few weeks with a mix of in-person and online learning.
Seven of the nine deaths reported Monday were people 65 years or older, state health officials said. Utah has recorded 345 confirmed deaths from coronavirus since the pandemic began.
The vast majority of people who are diagnosed with COVID-19 recover. For some people it causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough.
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