SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 911 from Wednesday, according to the Utah Department of Health.
That is the highest single-day increase in cases since the beginning of Utah’s pandemic, but no new deaths were reported Thursday.
“Today is not one of those good news days,” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday.
Herbert called Thursday’s numbers a “red flag warning.” State leaders will be meeting in the coming days to formulate a plan of action moving forward, the governor said.
COVID-19 testing has lagged in recent weeks, so in an effort to increase testing, state leaders are looking to make testing available for anyone who wants one, regardless of if they have a symptom of the disease, Herbert said. The state will be making an announcement about that process in the next few days, he added.
The state has received several requests from counties across Utah who are seeking to change their color-coded restriction status, Herbert said. Due to Thursday’s record-breaking number of new cases, the state is suspending that process, and those change requests will be put on hold until at least next week, he said.
State leaders will be considering other possible restrictions in the coming days to stop the spread of COVID-19 and slow down the state’s current spike, the governor added.
“Everything is on the table,” Herbert said.
There are currently an estimated 10,113 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah — the first time that number has been in quintuple digits since Aug. 7. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 661, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 11.9%.
The new numbers indicate a 1.5% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 735,138 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 8.3% have tested positive for COVID-19. The state reported an increase of 5,447 tests conducted as of Thursday.
There are currently 120 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah. Thursday’s totals give Utah 60,658 total confirmed cases, with 3,401 total hospitalizations and 437 total deaths from the disease. A total of 50,108 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn provided a COVID-19 update at a news conference Thursday. Watch the replay of the event below.
This story will be updated.
Methodology:
Test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after they are confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported for 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since Utah’s outbreak began, including those who are currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Deaths reported by the state typically occurred two to seven days prior to when they are reported, according to the health department. Some deaths may be from even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but has died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed and probable COVID-19 case deaths per the case definition outlined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The death counts are subject to change as case investigations are completed.
Data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district’s website.
Information is from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health compiles and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and scroll down to the “Data Notes” section at the bottom of the page.
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Jacob Klopfenstein