Utah has set another high bar for COVID-19 cases. There are 676 new cases of the coronavirus in Utah Friday, according to the state health department. That brings the total number of positive cases in Utah to 20,050 since the pandemic began in March.
More than 317,000 tests have been administered. The rate of positives is at 6.3%. 31 more people are in the hospital due to COVID-19, bringing the total number of hospitalizations to 174.
Two more people died from COVID-19 – both were men older than 65 years old and both lived in long-term care facilities. One lived in Weber County and the other was a Salt Lake County resident.
Summit County has 480 cases, up three from the day before. Wasatch County has 394, up two. Both counties have seen an average of about 3 new cases each day this week.
Dr. Angela Dunn, the state’s epidemiologist, said this is the second time in a week Utah has announced its highest daily case count total. Dunn also noted the state needs what she called “large-scale behavior change on the part of Utahns to reverse this trend.” She encourages wearing a face covering in public, staying at least six feet away from others and frequent hand washing.
