SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah jumped 2,543 on Friday, with 12 more deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department now estimates that there are 55,374 active cases of the disease in Utah. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now 2,391, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 25%, a full percentage point lower than Thursday and almost 8% lower than last week.
The state health service also announced on Friday that a new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 from the UK has now been detected in Utah. The variant was discovered in a Salt Lake County man who tested positive last month and is aged between 25 and 44. The man had no known travel history outside of Utah and had only mild symptoms, according to the health authority.
The COVID-19 vaccine is believed to be effective against the variation of the disease.
There are currently 584 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 210 in intensive care units, state data shows. According to the health department, about 93% of the intensive care beds in Utah are occupied, including about 95% of the intensive care beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 56% of the non-IC hospital beds are now occupied.
A total of 142,751 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, up from 133,202 Thursday.
Friday’s new case numbers point to a 0.8% increase in positive cases since Thursday. Of the 1,884,601 people tested for COVID-19 so far in Utah, 17% have tested positive for COVID-19. The number of tests conducted rose by 17,245 on Friday, and 12,985 of those were tests from people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19.
The 12 deaths reported Friday are:
- Two men from Salt Lake County who were between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in long-term care facilities
- Two men from Salt Lake County who were between the ages of 65 and 84 and were hospitalized when they died
- Two men from Salt Lake County, aged between 45 and 64, were hospitalized when they died
- A Utah County man over the age of 85 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
- A Weber County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County woman over the age of 85 living in a long-term care facility
- A Tooele County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Weber County who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was not hospitalized when she died
Friday’s totals give Utah 320,102 total confirmed cases, with 12,351 total hospitalizations and 1,472 total deaths from the disease. According to the health department, an estimated 263,256 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
No press conference on COVID-19 is scheduled for Friday. Utah officials gave a pandemic update at a press conference on Thursday.
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 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