The Southwest Utah Public Health Department reported 359 new COVID-19 cases on Friday with 45 of these located in Iron County. This brings the county total to 1,475 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
Utah continues record-breaking trends with a new high for single day cases of 4,588.
This continued surge in cases has resulted in a current rolling seven-day average for positive cases per day in the state at 3,331, which equates to a 23.6% positive test rate per day for the week.
Health officials also reported a total of 17 new COVID-19 related deaths across the state.
Two Washington County residents were reported among the deceased: a woman between the ages 45-65 and a man older than 85.
Davis, San Juan and Weber counties all reported the death of one man older than 85.
Salt Lake County reported the deaths of six individuals: one woman between the ages of 25-44, one man between the ages of 45-64, two men and one woman between the ages of 65-84 and one man over the age of 85.
Utah County also reported six new deaths: two men between the ages of 45-64, one woman and two men between the ages of 65-84 and one man older than 85.
Southern Utah University recorded its second-straight week of record high COVID-19 numbers with 73 cases reported to campus officials during the week of Nov. 12-18. These included 71 on-campus students and faculty, and two off-campus cases.
The rise in campus cases comes just one week before many students plan to leave for the Thanksgiving Break. After the holiday, SUU will transition to completely online classes.
Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah health officials have released a list of guidelines recommended for Utah families and students to promote safety during the holiday.
Those guidelines include recommendations for smaller groups of people, limitation of gatherings to those that you are around regularly and being aware and taking necessary precautions if exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19.
Gov. Herbert introduced the recommended guidelines during a Thursday press conference saying, “It’s all about minimizing risk.”
The Utah Department of Health also released a list of holiday safety tips and an entire webpage dedicated to holiday safety information accessible from the department’s website.
Story by: Mikyla Bagley
outdoors@suunews.net
Photo Courtesy of SUU Journal Archives
