716 new cases of COVID-19 were reported by the Utah Department of Health Tuesday, with three new cases reported in Iron County by the Southwest Department of Health.
While Utah County continues to have the highest rate in cases with a weekly average of 52 daily cases per 100,000 residents, this has been slowly decreasing in the past week.
Meanwhile Salt Lake County’s rate of infections is rapidly increasing, going from 12 to 38 new cases daily since early September.
With the continual uptick in cases, Gov. Gary Herbert is being urged by the Salt Lake City mayor to return the county to orange restriction levels to signal residents of the gravity of the situation.
In light of the increasing numbers, additional precautions are being taken for the pending upcoming vice presidential debate at the University of Utah on Thursday. These include putting plexiglass between the debaters and mediator and having them sit 12 feet away from each other.
As the pandemic intensifies the current political race, a newly released survey done by the Utah Foundation shows that the state’s residents were split along political lines in July about mask wearing and discusses how Utah was handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the months following the initial outbreak.
The survey reported that 56% of Utahns thought the state had reopened the economy too quickly after the pandemic started, while 44% thought the reopening was too cautious. More than nine out of 10 liberals said the reopening was too fast, while most conservatives thought it was too slow.
Story by: Larissa Beatty
accent@suunews.net
Photo courtesy of SUU News
