It was Utah’s deadliest day of the pandemic when 18 coronavirus deaths were reported Thursday along with 3,698 new positive COVID-19 cases.
State officials said the overall death toll has grown to 756.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert said Thursday the statewide mask mandate will continue.
“The one that’s going to be modified and changed is the requirement to have only households to eat together, for example, in the confines of your four walls. We’re taking that out of the order. What you do in the confines of your own home is going to be up to you. But we also are giving strong recommendations about how you can conduct that in a safe environment. Some will be extended and some will not. We will have that ready to present in its entirety on this next Monday.”
After the Bear River Health Department reported 242 positive cases Wednesday there were 259 more new ones Thursday (172 in Cache County, 37 in Box Elder County and one in Rich County.)
There have been 8,272 positive cases over the course of the pandemic in the Bear River District, 6,456 in Cache County, 1,779 in Box Elder County and 37 in Rich County.
Among the 8,272 total positive cases in northern Utah. Also, 5,934 of the total positives have since been termed “recovered.
The ongoing surge in the rate of coronavirus hospitalizations saw 535 patients in hospitals Thursday.
The state reported 17,705 tests were administered since Wednesday and since the start of the pandemic a total of 1,296,656 people have been tested.
As of Thursday 165,996 positive tests have been found in over eight months of the pandemic in Utah.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests is 3,163 a day and the rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests has grown to 23.7 percent.
In Idaho there are 86,435 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state. There have been 812 COVID deaths in Idaho with 543 positive tests in Franklin County, 153 positives in Bear Lake County and 110 in Oneida County.