“This is a record day for Utah, but not a good one,” says Gov. Herbert

Critics say that specific information about Coronavirus infection patterns is needed for the general public to make sound decisions about their activities.

When the state health department announced Friday’s latest COVID-19 positive cases for Utah — easily a new one-day record at 1,960 cases — Gov. Gary Herbert issued a stern warning.

“This is a record day for Utah — but not a good one,” Herbert said. “Cases of COVID-19 are at an all-time high, and I am deeply concerned that COVID exhaustion is as well. Now is not the time to let down your guard.

“Up until now our hospitals have been able to provide good care to all COVID and non-COVID patients who need it. But today we stand on the brink. If Utahns do not take serious steps to limit group gatherings and wear masks, our healthcare providers will not have the ability to provide quality care for everyone who needs it.”

There are 108 new cases Friday in the  Bear River Health District: 89 in Cache County and 19 in Box Elder County.

There have been 4,835  positive cases over the course of the pandemic in the Bear River District, 3,940 in Cache County, 875 in Box Elder County and 20 in Rich County.

Among the new positives in the district, 3,509 are considered “recovered”. Hospitalizations are on the rise in northern Utah. There are 16 from the district in hospitals, 12 from Cache County and four from Box Elder County.

As of Friday 101,509 Utahns have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Also, 75.7 percent of ICU beds and 55.6 percent of non-ICU beds are occupied in Utah.

Another week of tracking by the Utah Department of Health has found in the last seven days 15.8 percent of all coronavirus tests statewide were positive; that is another new record-high rate. Also, the rolling seven-day average for positive tests is 1,355 a day.

The four COVID-19 deaths since Thursday mean 567 Utahns have died due to the coronavirus.

In October there have now been at least 1,000 new cases on 20 of 23 days.

On Friday current COVID-19 hospitalizations in Utah totaled 313 and there have been 719 Utahns hospitalized for COVID-19 the last two weeks. Total hospitalizations since the beginning of the outbreak are now 4,939. The most recent report from Idaho indicates there are 56,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state. There have been 553 COVID deaths in Idaho with 322 positive tests in Franklin County, 66 positives in Bear Lake County and 38 in Oneida County.

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