Nov 9, 2020 - Health

Utah governor declares state of emergency as coronavirus cases spike

Rebecca Falconer

Drive through testing facilities for the Coronavieus (COVID-19) in a parking lot outside the University of Utah's Sugar House Health Clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 16 — A COVID-19 drive through testing site at the University of Utah's Sugar House Health Clinic in Salt Lake City. Photo: George Frey/AFP via Getty Images

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) announced late Sunday a new state of emergency that mandates masks statewide until further notice "due to the alarming rate of COVID infections" that have put a strain on hospitals.

Driving the news: Cases are surging across the U.S. Local officials said hospitals were at "breaking point" as infection numbers spike, per ABC4. Utah confirmed Sunday 2,386 more people tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the total to 132,621, per the COVID Tracking Project.

Under the new restrictions, social gatherings are limited to household-only for the next two weeks and "all extracurricular activities being temporarily put on hold," Herbert tweeted.
"These changes are not shutting down our economy, but are absolutely necessary to save lives and hospital capacity," he said.

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Utah governor declares state of emergency as coronavirus cases spike

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