UTAH, Oct. 22, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah had one of its worst days yet for COVID-19 numbers.
Six people have died in the past 24 hours.
The three records broken were:
- New documented cases — 1,542
- Patients hospitalized — 301
- Percent positive lab tests — 15.5%
Gov. Gary Herbert spoke at a Thursday news conference about his disappointment that many people aren’t wearing masks.
Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist, also spoke:
“We’ve seen in the past couple weeks our healthcare system is at capacity, our healthcare providers are overwhelmed and exhausted, our public health system is stressed, and Utahns are tired, exhausted and we’re scared,” she said.
“And I get it, we get it, but the doctors, nurses, public health practitioners, the researchers developing a vaccine, we’re all coming to work every single day to protect the lives and livelihoods of Utahns so that we can move toward a time when we don’t have to worry about this anymore.
“And I, I just don’t know what to do anymore,” she added. “… I’m really not trying to scare anyone, I’m just trying to inform you and give you the facts of where we are in this pandemic.”
Deaths
The Utahns who died were:
- A Davis County woman between ages 65 and 84, hospitalized at the time of death
- A Garfield County man, older than 85, not hospitalized at the time of death
- A Juab County woman between ages 65 and 84, hospitalized at the time of death
- A Salt Lake County woman between ages 45 and 64, a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County man between ages 45 and 64, hospitalized at the time of death
- A Utah County man between ages 65 and 84, hospitalized at the time of death
Confirmed Utah deaths from the virus total 563.
The numbers
With the increase of 1,543 cases in the past 24 hours, Utah has now has had 99,549 positive cases.
Utah has tested 1,004,286 people for the virus, 10,291 of them in the past 24 hours.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests is 1,288 per day. The rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests is the record 15.5%
A record 301 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Total hospitalizations from the beginning of the outbreak are 4,880.
Those categorized as recovered, defined as still living three weeks after diagnosis, number 73,586. It is common for COVID-19 patients to die more than three weeks after diagnosis.
The chart below shows the numbers broken down by area of the state:
