SALT LAKE CITY — Eleven counties in Utah have more new cases this week than last, although some like Beaver, Duchesne and Sevier are small enough that one or two cases make a big difference. The parentheses show if the county has risen more than one week in a row.
Every county recording a case last week has a box on the chart below, and the numbers are averaged to compare per capita. Utah County continues to be the trouble spot on the Wasatch Front, while Morgan County had its worst week.
Utah's 10 counties with between 20,000 and 100,000 people are shown below. Summit County had the highest average last week as well, but they've reduced their number from 165 to 77.
Utah's has six counties with more than 100 thousand residents. Utah County is the story here...looking worse than its peers for a while.
The chart below compares each county against itself. Red is bad (think of hot lava or a hot spot). Blue is cool. The number 18 for Davis County means they had 18 more cases per 100,000 residents from last week to this week — a big change. Weber County had the best: 19 fewer cases per 100,000 residents.
Looking at the entire state, there is some really good news. The average cases per day hit 400 for the first time on June 19, followed by a predictable lag, but deaths caught up, averaging more than four per day three weeks later. Then, cases dipped back below 400 about two weeks before deaths settled below four per day. The small number of deaths cause averages to fluctuate more, but it looks like the downward trend started to take hold around August 26.
The numbers show precautions like face masks, cleaning and physical distancing seem to be working, so they are an argument for continued caution.
