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 added 433 new coronavirus cases and two new deaths Saturday, according the Utah Department of Health.
The number of added cases is down from 513 diagnosed on Friday and 504 on Thursday. Gov. Gary Herbert had said he wanted the state to get below 400 new cases per day by Sept. 1. Utahns met that goal weeks ago, but the weeklong average is now at 406 new cases per day, UDOH reported.
The death toll from the coronavirus rose to 420 with two fatalities reported since Friday:
A San Juan County man, age 45 to 64, who died in a hospital.
A Salt Lake County man, age 65 to 84, who died in a hospital.
The health department removed a Salt Lake County woman, age 45 to 64, who lived in long-term care facility resident, from the death count “after further investigation.”
There were 120 Utah patients concurrently hospitalized on Saturday, UDOH reported. In total, 3,188 patients have been hospitalized in Utah for COVID-19, up 16 from Friday.
The rate of tests with positive results states was at 9.4% on Saturday, the same as Friday. State epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn has said a 3% positivity rate would indicate the virus is under control.
There were 4,249 new test results reported on Saturday.
Salt Lake County saw its biggest increase in cases, 177, in a week. Summit County added 10 cases, its highest increase since Aug. 22, when it saw 13.
Of 54,272 Utahns who have tested positive for COVID-19, 45,896 are considered “recovered” — that is, they have survived for at least three weeks after being diagnosed.
The number of outbreaks at schools remained at 38 on Saturday, with two new cases linked to schools.
Follow @ruthyjacobs