The Utah Department of Health reported 1,196 new positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with no new deaths. Iron County reported 8 cases from the last two days and Southern Utah University had a record high amount of 15 cases from the last week.
Although 1,196 is a low number compared to the last record-shattering week with a high of 2,266 cases, it marks the third week in a row of more than 1,000 positive daily cases. Currently, 19% of Utah’s tests are coming back positive, which according to health officials continues to indicate a large number of those infected are not getting tested.
UDOH reported that last week’s seven-day average of positive test results was 1,647 with hospitalizations continuing to increase. Currently, 5,576 individuals have been hospitalized across the state, showing an increase of 50 patients from Sunday.
Utah’s intensive care unit occupancy decreased over the weekend from 75.7% to 71.6%. Utah health officials warned last week that ICUs cannot function at full capacity.
Over the Halloween weekend, a party in Utah County with an estimated number of 10,000 guests was shut down after a girl was badly injured while crowd surfing. Videos of the event show thousands of individuals dancing closely without face masks.
Although speculations have arisen over who hosted the party, no single group will assume full responsibility. According to an article by FOX 13, one Utah event planning company called “Utah Tonight” asked on their Instagram story for individuals to not get tested for COVID-19 from exposure over the weekend.
Story by Amanda Walton
life@suunews.net
Photo Courtesy of SUU News
