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Public schools in Utah began welcoming students Aug. 13, and since then, health officials have been looking out for coronavirus outbreaks.
Since the new school year began, Utah’s Department of Health has reported seven such outbreaks, which have infected 55 people. There have been six hospitalizations, but no deaths. In the past week, the state has reported five of those outbreaks, in which 27 people tested positive.
The state defines an outbreak as “two or more cases associated with a setting outside of the household within 14 days.” The Department of Health also lists outbreak data for workplaces, hospitals, group living facilities, child care facilities and detention facilities. Workplace outbreaks are by far the most common, with 671 total outbreaks during the pandemic, with 4,605 people testing positive and 14 dying. New data from Salt Lake County shows that workers in food manufacturing and call centers were among the most likely to be in an outbreak.
Utah hit three statistical milestones during this past week. The state crossed the 50,000-case mark on Wednesday. Sunday’s 448 reported cases pushes the state’s total to 51,854.
In past weeks, the average cases have been trending downward, but not this past week. For the seven-day period from Aug. 24 through Sunday, the Department of Health reported 2,490 cases, an average of nearly 356 per day. The previous seven-day period saw 2,221 cases, an average of 317 per day.
Of the 2,490 cases reported, 760 of them, or just above 30%, belong to Utah County. Hospitalizations in the health district during the seven-day period rose by 20, from 480 to 500, while deaths rose by three, from 43 to 46.
Salt Lake County, which has a total of 23,862 cases, 1,549 total hospitalizations since the pandemic began and 230 total deaths, had an encouraging week after adding 979 new cases last week, showing a downward trend. Salt Lake County remains one of 19 Utah counties at a “yellow,” or low-risk level, although Salt Lake City is the only part of the state at “orange,” or a moderate-risk level.
Total hospitalizations crossed 3,000 for the first time last week, standing at 3,080 on Sunday. While cases are trending slightly upward, active hospitalizations are dropping from 130 to 116 this week.
The state also surpassed 400 deaths, though it appears that the pace of those deaths is slowing. On Sunday, the state reported a total of 407 deaths, but it was the second day in a row where the state didn’t add to that total. The last time the state reported no deaths two days in a row was mid-June.
One number that isn’t moving much is the seven-day average for positive coronavirus tests. On Sunday, it stood at 9.1%, far higher than public health officials want to see. According to data from covidactnow.org, Utah’s rate is the 17th highest in the country behind Nebraska’s 9.4% and ahead of Wisconsin’s 8.7%.
Dr. Angela Dunn, the state epidemiologist, has said a 3% positivity rate would indicate the virus is under control.
