SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health reports 1,585 new test-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state on Sunday, along with eight new reported deaths.
That brings Utah to 323,837 confirmed cases and 1,493 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Currently, the health department says 557 Utahns have been hospitalized for COVID-19, including 226 in intensive care. The health department site says Utah’s ICU referral beds are over 100% full, with a total of 458 patients being treated, although there are 453 beds available.
Sunday’s figures come as the state conducted 14,727 more tests, of which 7,199 for people who had not previously been tested.
In the past week, the state has an average of 2,209 new reported cases per day and a positive test rate of 22.6%. The health department says 157,170 total doses of the coronavirus vaccine have now been administered in Utah, an increase of 4,661 doses from the day before.
Nearly 15,000 Utahns have received their second dose of vaccine; both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses for maximum effectiveness. The state began vaccinating health workers and has now turned to educators and residents over the age of 70.
No press conference on the coronavirus from state leaders is scheduled this weekend. Gov. Spencer Cox and health officials are expected to hold a conference later this week; it usually happens on Thursdays.
The Utahns whose deaths were reported Sunday included seven men who were all hospitalized when they died:
- A man from Carbon County between 65 and 84 years old
- A Millard County man aged 65 to 84
- Two men from Utah County, ages 45-64
- A Utah County man aged between 65 and 84
- A Washington County man aged 65 to 84
- A Washington County man over 85
A woman in Iron County aged 65-84 living in a long-term care facility was also admitted.
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 upon confirmation, 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 reporting, according to the health department. 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 outlined 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 about Utah’s 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.
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Graham Dudley