Utah has been ranked as one of the five states with the lowest death rates caused by COVID-19, according to a new study by Statista. (Photo Credit: CDC)
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is ranked as one of the five states with the lowest death rates caused by COVID-19, according to a new study by Statista. The study places the state at #5 — just as the state government weighs the option of fully reopening the state.
The study finds Utah has a death rate of three per 100,000 people as of Monday. This data was collected from reports by states and counties, with some numbers possibly outdated due to new developments.
Utah falls in fifth place for the lowest death rates, falling close behind:
These numbers are starkly compared to New York, which sits at the top of the list with 150 deaths per 100,000 people.
This comes just after the Utah Department of Health reported an updated number of 101 COVID-related deaths — surpassing 100 deaths for the first time Tuesday.
The state also reports a total of 8,620 confirmed cases since the outbreak began in mid-March. These case numbers placed Utah at #34 for total coronavirus cases in the country as of Monday, when the case total sat at 8,392.
These numbers come at the same time some state business leaders want to make the move to transition Utah to its green recovery phase — just two weeks into its yellow low-risk phase.
“We’re headed towards green because the data tells us that Utahns, by and large, are being responsible,” said Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and the chair of Utah’s COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force, to KSL.com. “Moving from yellow to green is probably more of a step than when we moved from orange to yellow because green tells us we’re getting to that new normal.”
The move to green would benefit businesses across the state, namely tourism and travel-related companies, to get back on its feet. However, the move into different phases of the governor’s Utah Leads Together 2.0 Plan may depend on the county — with some moving forward quicker than others.