27 of Utah’s 28 coronavirus deaths were people over 55

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - All but one of Utah’s 28 confirmed coronavirus deaths have been people over the age of 55, state health officials said Monday.

That breakdown mirrors national trends: More than nine in 10 of the 15,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the United States were in that age group, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest reported death among Utah residents was a 68-year-old man who was serving as a senior missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Allen Dee Pace, of Willard, had been serving with his wife in Detroit when he was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early April, said church spokesman Daniel Woodruff. He died Saturday.

Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko said 27 of the 28 deaths have been people over the age of 55. The vast majority had underlying health conditions and died in hospitals, state epidemiologist Angela Dunn said.

Utah has 3,200 confirmed cases, according to updated figures Monday.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe life-threatening illness, including pneumonia, and death.

In other coronavirus developments:

- Utah health officials are working with the CDC and the University of Utah to start antibody testing in the state within the next two weeks to better understand the spread of the coronavirus in Utah, Dunn said Monday. She called the blood tests that determine if a person has been exposed to COVID-19 the key to understanding the virus spread. Dozens of organizations around the world are trying to develop antibody tests.

- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said Monday that the first 10,000 mask-sewing kits have been claimed in a a project the faith is doing along with several health care organizations to try and make 5 million medical-grade masks for health care workers, the Deseret News reports. The church’s women’s organization, called the Relief Society, has tapped into its network of thousands of volunteers from around the world for help.

- A day before a large weekend rally in Salt Lake City that drew hundreds of people to protest the city’s stay-at-home order, a man was arrested who police say threatened a “civil war” if Mayor Erin Mendenhall did not “open up the city,” according to charging documents.

Marlin Richard Baer was arrested Friday on suspicion of making a terrorist threat and electronic communication harassment after he made the phone call to Mendenhall’s office demanding that she cancel the stay-at-home order that she invoked on March 29, police said.

He was arrested before he could attend a rally Saturday at City Hall, which he referenced in his call, that drew about 1,000 demonstrators.

Baer, 59, said in the call that Mendenhall would be “forcibly removed from office” if she didn’t open up the city, police said.

Baer said in his call that if things didn’t change, a “civil war” would be coming and that police wouldn’t stop him, the charging document alleges. Baer also commented on Facebook that people should bring guns to the rally.

“This is going to be an emotionally charged rally and there is concern that Marlin will commit violence if the mayor does not release the COVID-19 restrictions,” police wrote in a probable cause statement issued Friday that was not widely disseminated until Monday. “The conduct that Marlin was engaging in regarding the threat of violence toward the mayor has caused alarm.”

Baer, of Salt Lake City, had not yet been charged on Monday and it wasn’t clear if he was still detained or if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. A message left at a publicly listed phone number for Baer was not immediately returned.

The rally Saturday in Salt Lake City was one of several protests against stay-at-home orders around the country organized by small-government groups and President Donald Trump supporters.

Utah’s Republican Gov. Gary Herbert has not issued a statewide stay-at-home order but he has requested that people stay home as much as possible.

Herbert said Friday he plans to gradually reopen the economy in early May by allowing in-person dining at restaurants, reopening gyms and resuming elective surgeries.