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Seth Christensen administers a COVID-19 test to Dennis Torres, 9, at a testing site run by the Salt Lake County Health Department at Glendale Middle School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah health officials reported another 747 COVID-19 cases — the highest daily increase since July — and another death on Wednesday.
Dr. Angela Dunn said this new spike shows people need to be reminded about the importance of following the same basic health directions.
“We learned from our experience this summer that wearing masks and practicing physical distancing, along with staying home when we’re sick and washing our hands regularly, can help slow the spread of COVID-19 in our communities,” Dunn, epidemiologist with the Utah Department of Health, said in a statement.
“We are currently experiencing a new spike in cases, similar to what we saw earlier in the summer. It’s time to reiterate the importance of people taking these preventive measures. By wearing masks, physically distancing, and staying home if we are sick, we can prevent unnecessary death and illness,” she said.
The new cases were confirmed out of 4,119 tests, with an 18.1% positive rate. They bring the state’s total cases since the pandemic began to 59,747 of 729,731 people tested, an overall positive rate of about 8.2%.
The rolling seven-day average for new cases is now 585 per day, and the average positive test rate is 11.1%. Currently, 115 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah, 13 fewer than on Tuesday. Since the beginning of the outbreak, 3,381 people in Utah have been hospitalized with COVID-19.
The death reported Tuesday was a Salt Lake County man older than 85 who was not hospitalized when he died. His death brings the state’s death toll to 437.
About 49,700 of Utah’s cases are considered recovered after surviving the three-week point since their diagnoses, meaning about 9,600 cases remain active.
This story will be updated.
Source:: Deseret News – Utah News
