SALT LAKE CITY – According to the Utah Department of Health, COVID-19 cases in Utah jumped 2,009 on Wednesday, with another seven dead.
The health department now estimates that there are 46,034 active cases of the disease in Utah. The moving seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now 1,758, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 18.4%.
There are currently 452 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 161 in intensive care units, state data shows. According to the health department, about 84% of all beds in the Utah intensive care unit were occupied, including about 89% of the intensive care beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 52% of the non-IC hospital beds are occupied.
In total, 250,448 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 237,637 Tuesday. Of these, 37,335 are second doses of the vaccine, according to state data.
The new figures indicate an increase of 0.6% in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 1,989,106 people tested for COVID-19 so far in Utah, 17.1% have tested positive for the disease. The number of tests conducted has increased by 16,644 since Wednesday, and 10,156 of those were tests from people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to the health department.
The seven deaths reported Wednesday include:
- A Grand County man over the age of 85 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Millard County man between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Tooele County man over the age of 85 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Utah County man who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Utah County woman who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Washington County man between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Washington County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
Wednesday’s totals give Utah 340,684 total confirmed cases, with 13,217 total hospitalizations and 1,620 total deaths from the disease. According to state data, a total of 293,030 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
No press conference on COVID-19 is scheduled for Wednesday. The Utah government, Spencer Cox, will provide a pandemic update Thursday at 11 a.m.
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 they are confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported until after 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 start of the Utah outbreak, including those currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who are passed away.
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. To learn more about 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