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Hospitalizations in Utah due to COVID-19 dropped significantly Monday, with 139 Utah patients currently admitted, the Utah Department of Health reported — the lowest number since mid-June.
On average, 173 patients have been receiving treatment in Utah hospitals each day for the past seven days — continuing a decline that began in the middle of last week, and well below the peak average of 211 patients hospitalized a little more than two weeks ago.
In total, 2,782 patients have been hospitalized in Utah for COVID-19, up 11 from Sunday. For the past 14 days, the state has reported 332 new hospitalizations — the lowest of any two-week stretch since late June.
With 242 new coronavirus cases reported on Monday, Utah’s rate of new diagnoses also continued to decline, staying under the governor’s target of less than 400 cases per day.
For the past seven days, Utah has averaged 354 new positive test results per day, the Utah Department of Health reported on Monday. Gov. Gary Herbert had said he wanted the state to get below 400 new cases per day by Sept. 1 — and after about three weeks of declining numbers, it would take a sharp rise in infections to exceed that target.
The rate of tests with positive results was at 9.6% on Monday, up slightly from Sunday. State epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn has said a 3% positivity rate would indicate the virus is under control.
Statewide, Utah's rate of positive tests have been above 5% since May 25, according to UDOH data.
There were 3,268 new test results reported on Monday, below the weeklong average of 3,857 new tests per day. Testing demand has been dropping since late July, state officials and hospital administrators have said; in mid-July, the state was reporting more than 7,000 new test results per day, on average.
Utah’s death toll from the coronavirus stood at 364 on Monday, with two fatalities reported since Sunday:
A Salt Lake County woman, age 65 to 84, who died in a hospital.
A Utah County man, older than 85, Utah County resident, who died in a hospital.
One previous death was removed from the list for further investigation, UDOH said.
Of 46,894 Utahns who have tested positive for COVID-19, 38,132 are considered “recovered” — that is, they have survived for at least three weeks after being diagnosed.
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