Saturday in Utah yielded another large number of new coronavirus infections, with 760 positive test results reported. This includes a record number for Utah County where opposition to mask wearing, regarded as an essential measure for containing the COVID-19 epidemic, has made national news.

Utah County added 198 cases coming after seeing at least 150 new cases on each of the past two days, indicating that county may be taking over the distinction as the state's worst hot spot from Salt Lake County, where the rate of new infections has been slowing.

Todays climbing case count numbers are concerning for [the Utah County Health Department] and an indication of the upward trend Utah County has been experiencing, said department spokeswoman Aislynn Tolman-Hill. Health officials recommend wearing a mask when physical distancing cannot be maintained, regular hand washing, good hygiene, and staying home when you are sick.

Salt Lake County reported 289 new cases, or 38% of Utahs total, on Saturday. Previously, Utahs most populous county accounted for half of its new cases.

Among Utahns lost to the coronavirus is Gary Hatfield of Taylorsville, an 83-year-old retired chemist who who analyzed water and soil samples at the Bureau of Reclamation laboratory in Salt Lake City.

Eight deaths were reported statewide, including three in Salt Lake County, although the number of people hospitalized with the disease dipped from 198 to 185. Total deaths since the start of the pandemic is 243, with 2,014 hospitalizations.

Weber and Washington counties each reported two deaths. So far this week, Utah has lost 28 residents to COVID-19, on track to exceed the record of 31 set last week.

Utahs rolling seven-day average of new cases climbed to 617 per day with a positive rate of 10.2% of laboratory tests conducted. Of the states 33,332 case, 20,421 are considered recovered, meaning the person remained alive three weeks after the date of diagnosis.

On the testing front, 456,240 Utahns have now been tested for COVID-19, and increase of 8,434 from Friday.

Already afflicted with diabetes and Alzheimers, Hatfield succumbed on July 9 after contracting the disease at a nursing facility. He was the first case at the facility, which the family asked not be identified.

It is frustrating, said his son, Greg Hatfield. We knew that it was a matter of time until [the center] got it, but weve been really, really diligent, checking everybody as they came, not allowing anybody from the outside, anybody but workers into the facility.

The son put on two masks, a face shield, gloves and other protective equipment and went into his fathers room so the rest of his family could see Gary Hatfield over FaceTime.

He got a final goodbye with everyone, Greg Hatfield said. So that was wonderful.

The states a big place, Greg Hatfield said, and every community is different, and so to try to make everybody follow all the same rules doesnt make sense. But I fully support wearing masks. Theres so many good people out there dying from this and theres people out there who think its a hoax, which is just amazing.

Gary Hatfields oldest daughter, Karen Nowling, a registered nurse who has spent much of her career in end-of-life care, said her parents discussed with their children years ago the treatments they did and did not want to receive in their final days. Her father had said he did not want to be kept alive with a ventilator, Nowling said, and the family was comfortable with the decision to not put him on one after contracting COVID-19.

He would have been miserable in the ICU with a tube down his throat, Nowling said. He wouldnt have survived that anyway.

This story will be updated.

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Utah reports 760 new cases and and 8 new deaths from COVID-19; Utah County emerging as new hot spot - Salt Lake Tribune