Utah passed another grim milestone for COVID-19 cases on Friday, recording over 2,000 cases in a day for the first time. Summit and Wasatch County both reported recode case counts as well.
Utah’s fight against COVID-19 seems to be getting harder by the day as the spike in cases the state has been experiencing since early September has shown no signs of slowing down.
The Utah department of health reported 2,292 new cases on Friday, the first time the state has seen over 2,000 cases in a day. Friday’s numbers shatter the previous record of 1,989 cases from October 22nd.
Summit County also matched its worst day since the start of the pandemic, reporting 30 new infections on Friday. The county also reported 30 cases on March 22nd.
Wasatch County set a record as well, reporting 28 new cases.
Neither Summit or Wasatch County reported any new deaths. As of Friday, only one person has died of COVID-19 in Summit County, while nine deaths have been reported in Wasatch County.
The Health Department reported three statewide deaths, two men and one woman, all three over the age of 44.
With 318 patients currently hospitalized and 133 of them in intensive care, 72.5% of ICU beds in Utah are now occupied, an increase of 3.3% from Thursday.
Utah’s current COVID-19 mortality rate is 0.5%, but the shrinking ICU capacity has given state health officials cause for concern. Governor Gary Herbert and State Epidemiologist Dr. Angla Dunn both warned that if current trends continue and ICU beds do become full, hospitals will be forced to ration care to both COVID and non-COVID patients, which could lead to more deaths.
Utah’s seven-day average of positive tests is now 1,622 and the average of positive laboratory tests is 18.2%.
Almost the entire state, including Summit and Wasatch County, is classified as a high transmission area by the Health Department. Under a high classification, mask wearing is required in public and gatherings are limited to under 10 people.
