Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.
Utah reported three more coronavirus deaths, along with increases in hospitalizations and cases on Thursday, but officials remain optimistic about the state’s trajectory in combating the disease and have released new data to explain why.
The state reported 5,724 COVID-19 cases, 129 more than Wednesday. That’s a 2.3% daily growth rate.
Of the three new death, one was a woman over 60, who died in a hospital in Salt Lake County. The second was a man over 85, living in a Salt Lake County longterm care facility. The third, a man under 60, also lived in a longterm care facility, this one in Utah County.
Their deaths bring the state’s total to 61.
The state is also now breaking down case data in new ways, showing for the first time how people with known illnesses were exposed and their risk factors and preexisting conditions.
One key new piece of information is the number of hospitalized patients, which is 95. Officials often point to available hospital beds when adding or removing restrictions, since the point of flattening the curve, or staggering COVID-19 cases over a longer period of time, is to not overburden hospitals.
Overall the state has an estimated 5,849 hospital beds, while the University of Utah Health alone has said it could treat 600 COVID patients at the same time. Hospitals have enough capacity that the governor previously moved to resume elective surgeries.
Overall, the state has had 476 people hospitalized for the coronavirus, a dozen more than the day before.
According to the data, 72% of all Utahns hospitalized for known cases of COVID-19 had some kind of preexisting condition. The most common is diabetes, accounting for just over 31% of cases.
Of those hospitalized, 33% were treated in intensive care units. About 15% of all hospitalized people had to be intubated.
During a Thursday news briefing, Gov. Gary Herbert applauded the state’s response to COVID-19, touting its hospital capacity, testing capabilities, low transmission rates and “robust” supply of personal protective equipment as signs Utah could move forward to a yellow, or low risk, level in a few weeks.
Research from Harvard University said Utah was one of just nine states that have enough testing to start reopening, NPR reported Thursday.
Herbert said that while cases continue to grow, that’s a byproduct of more abundant testing. Utah ranks No. 5 in the U.S. for its testing numbers per capita.
Plus, he said the state’s rate of positive tests was once around 5%, it’s now dropped to about 4.2%. Utah also has the lowest number in the country for deaths per confirmed cases, beating South Dakota by about one thousandth of a percentage point.
“I feel good about all those who’ve made this happen,” Herbert said, adding later, “We need to continue to keep our vigilance up and make sure that we do what we need to be doing ... to keep this trend in the right direction.”
That means continuing to practice social distancing, he said.
Even with precautions, there are metrics that state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn expects will change as Utah reopens: exposures.
Currently, most Utahns diagnosed with COVID-19 — about 60% — got it from people in their own households. It doesn’t mean the home is more dangerous than anywhere else, just that people are only coming in close contact with members of their household, Dunn said.
As Utahns go back to work or revive their social lives, Dunn said she expects to see more people being infected from people outside their household.
“That’s why it’s super important that people stay at home when they’re sick, they maintain social distance measure when they’re able to," Dunn said, “and then they’re wearing a mask when those social distancing measures are just not possible.”
Follow @PaightenHarkins