SALT LAKE CITY – According to the Utah Department of Health, COVID-19 cases in Utah rose by 1,201 on Tuesday, with 17 more deaths.
Six of those deaths occurred before Jan. 13, but were still under investigation by the medical examiner’s office, according to the health department.
The health department estimates that there are now 36,747 active COVID-19 cases in Utah. The moving seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now 1,394, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 16.6%.
There are currently 396 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 130 in intensive care units, state data shows. About 76% of all intensive care beds have been occupied in Utah as of Tuesday, including about 79% of the ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. According to data from the health department, about 52% of non-intensive care hospital beds are occupied.
A total of 325,457 vaccines were administered in the state, compared to 311,785 on Monday.
The new figures indicate an increase of 0.3% in positive cases since Monday. Of the 2,035,662 people who have been tested for COVID-19 in Utah to date, 17.1% have tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests performed increased by 14,840, of which 7,499 were tests from people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19.
The deaths reported Tuesday were:
- A Davis County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Salt Lake County woman over the age of 85 living in a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County woman between the ages of 45 and 64 who was hospitalized when she died
- Two women in Utah County who were over 85 and lived in long-term care facilities
- A Washington County woman who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and lived in a long-term care facility
- Two women from Washington County who were over 85 years old and lived in long-term care facilities
- A Weber County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- A man from Cache County who was over 85 and hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County man was over 85 and was not hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- Two men from Salt Lake County who were between the ages of 35 and 44 and were hospitalized when they died
- A Salt Lake County man between the ages of 45 and 64 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County man was over 85 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County man between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
Tuesday’s totals give Utah a total of 348,409 confirmed cases, with 13,576 total hospitalizations and 1,685 total deaths from the disease. According to the health department, an estimated 309,977 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
The Utah government, Spencer Cox, will provide a pandemic update Thursday at 11 a.m., according to the governor’s office.
Methodology:
The test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results will be reported to the health department immediately after being confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported for 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since the Utah outbreak began, including those currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died .
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Referral hospitals are the 16 hospitals in Utah that can provide the best COVID-19 healthcare.
Deaths reported by the state usually occurred two to seven days before they were reported, the health department said. Some deaths can be even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed and probable deaths from COVID-19 according to the case definition set forth by the Council of State and territorial epidemiologists. Death rates are subject to change as the investigation of the case is completed.
For deaths reported as COVID-19 deaths, the person would not have died if they had not had COVID-19, according to the health department.
The data in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. Visit your local health district website for more localized information.
More information on Utah health guidelines is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
Information is from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health collects and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and scroll down to the “Data Notes” section at the bottom of the page.
Jacob Klopfenstein