SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 5, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Health has reported three more COVID-19-related deaths in the past 24 hours, plus a record-breaking daily spike of 439 new cases.
Those who died are were all Salt Lake County residents:
- Male, between the ages of 60-85, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, older than 85, a long-term care facility resident
- Male, between the ages of 60-85, hospitalized at time of death
Case increase
The 4.1% increase in cases the past day increases cumulative cases to 11,252. Since the pandemic came to Utah, a single-day increase of 439 cases is the largest confirmed.
State epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn release a statement, below, on the increase:
Today’s case counts represent yet another significant increase in the spread of COVID-19 in our communities.
One out of every three of these new cases are from the Bear River Health District, and many of those are tied to an ongoing outbreak we have been investigating at a local meat processing facility. Many of the workers at this facility match the demographics of who we know are at the highest risk for infection. I expect to see additional cases of COVID-19 identified as part of this outbreak, both at the worksite and in the community.
It’s more important than ever that employers provide safe working environments for their employees, and have policies in place that not only allow, but encourage, employees to stay away from the workplace when they are sick.
More information about this outbreak, and what public health is doing to contain it, will be provided by the Bear River Health Department.
For the rest of us, now is not the time to let your guard down. Social distancing is more important than ever, yet people seem to be taking it less seriously than ever. If you’re sick, stay home. If you’re moving about in public, wear a mask. It is up to all of us as individuals to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Utah.
The current spike is has 96 more new that the previous record holder of 343 new cases reported on May 29.
The spike comes after three consecutive weeks relaxing state guidelines. As of Friday morning, all counties in Utah were rated as low risk (yellow). Only Salt Lake City, Bluff and Mexican remained in the moderate risk (orange) categories.
More numbers
According to Friday numbers, a cumulative 870 people have been hospitalized due to COVID-19. There are currently 114 patients hospitalized, 20 of them new since Friday.
The number of Utahns tested for COVID-19 now stands at 232,197, an increase of 4,690 since Thursday. Utah’s positive test rate is 4.8% of total tested.
Patients recovered, defined as still living three weeks after diagnosis, stand at 6,788.
To see the numbers broken down by area, check the chart below.
