Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.
The death of another younger adult from COVID-19 in Utah was reported on Monday, bringing the state’s death toll to 216.
The woman who died was between the ages of 25 and 44 and lived in a long-term care facility in Weber County, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Of the 10 deaths reported so far in that age group, eight have occurred in the past two weeks, according to UDOH data.
The seven-day average for new cases rose slightly from 647 on Sunday to 656 on Monday, UDOH reported; Sunday’s average previously was misreported as higher due to a typo, UDOH officials confirmed.
However, the rate of tests with positive results held at 10.1% as of July 7, the most recent date for which the state has complete data, given reporting lags.
And hospitalizations remained high, with 207 patients currently receiving hospital care — just two less than Sunday’s all-time high of 209. There were 26 new hospital admissions reported on Monday, bringing the 14-day total to 433, the highest of any two-week period since the beginning of the pandemic.
Per population, San Juan County had the highest rate of new infections in Utah, averaging 60 new cases a day per 100,000 people for the week ending Monday. That appears to be due to an outbreak at a nursing home in Blanding.
The most recent data from five other counties also showed averages of more than 20 new daily cases per 100,000 residents: Juab, Millard, Salt Lake, Washington and Weber.
Of the 30,030 Utah patients who have tested positive for COVID-19, 17,728 are considered “recovered” — that is, they have survived for at least three weeks after being diagnosed.
