New cases and hospitalizations in Utah both broke records again on Tuesday. 3,178 new diagnoses of COVID-19 were reported by the Utah Department of Health, and 512 Utahns were hospitalized for the coronavirus as of Tuesday, adding 129 patients since Monday — a single-day record.
283 new cases were reported for the region by the Southwest Utah Public Health Department, including five in Iron County. There were also two deaths reported in the region; a Beaver County woman older than 85 and a Washington County man aged 65 to 84.
These two deaths are counted in the nine fatalities from the virus since Monday. These deaths included a Salt Lake County man older than 85, two Salt Lake County women, one age 65 to 84 and one over 85, two Utah County men, one age 65 to 84 and one older than 85, a Weber County man, age 65 to 84, and a Juab County man, age 65 to 84.
These deaths bring the number of Utahns who have died in the last week to 60, and 189 in the past month.
For the past week, the state averaged more than 3,000 new positive test results a day for the first time, the Utah Department of Health reported.
As the spike in cases continues to surge, 6,174 have been reported as recovered in the SWUPHD region.
For the past week, 24.4% of all tests have come back positive. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, state officials say this suggests many infected people have not been diagnosed and may be spreading the virus to others unwittingly.
A new public service and social media campaign called “All In” made its Twitter debut Tuesday. The short video features MD Marc Harrison, chairwoman Gail Miller from the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith and Deseret Management Corp. CEO Keith McMullin.
The campaign video asks Utahns to respect the virus and others in their communities by staying home and restricting gatherings this holiday season.
Using the hashtag #AllinUT, it also invites Utahns to follow public health guidelines like wearing a face covering and keeping six feet of distance from others when in public.
Story By: Larissa Beatty
accent@suunews.net
