SALT LAKE CITY – According to the Utah Department of Health, COVID-19 cases in Utah increased by 590 on Wednesday, with an additional three deaths and 34,472 vaccinations.
The health department estimates that there are now 8,552 active cases of the disease in Utah. The moving seven-day average number of positive cases per day now stands at 384, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period, calculated with the “people over people” method, is now 6.2%. The positive test percentage per day for that period, calculated with the “test over test” method, is now 3%.
There are currently 146 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 58 in intensive care units, state data shows. About 61% of all hospital intensive care beds in Utah are occupied, while about 65% of the intensive care beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals are occupied. About 51% of all non-IC hospital beds are occupied in the state, state data shows.
A total of 1,950,894 vaccine doses were administered in the state, up from 1,916,922 Tuesday. In total, 1,217,167 Utahns have now received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 819,683 are now fully vaccinated. To date, a total of 2,180,690 vaccine doses have been shipped to Utah.
About 51.2% of vaccine-eligible Utahns ages 16 and older have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 34.5% of the state’s eligible population is now fully vaccinated. About 38% of the total Utah population, including children under the age of 16 who are currently not eligible for the vaccine, has now received at least one dose and 25.6% of the population is now fully vaccinated.
The new numbers indicate an increase of 0.2% in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 2,505,996 people tested for COVID-19 so far in Utah, 15.7% have tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests conducted since the start of the pandemic now stands at 4,525,584, up from 15,496 since Tuesday. Of those, there were 4,057 tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to the health department.
The three deaths reported Wednesday were:
- A Davis County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
- An Iron County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Utah County woman who was between the ages of 25 and 44 and was hospitalized when she died
Wednesday’s totals give Utah 393,862 total confirmed cases, with 15,981 total hospitalizations and 2,177 total deaths from the disease. According to the health department, an estimated 383,133 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox and Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson are scheduled to provide a COVID-19 pandemic update at their weekly press conference Thursday at 11 a.m., according to the governor’s office.
Utah’s pandemic ‘endgame’ bill, HB294, requires all state and local health ordinances related to COVID-19 to end on the day Utah hits the threshold in three key metrics: the state’s 14-day case is less than 191 per 100,000 people, the seven-day average of COVID-19 intensive care unit use is less than 15%, and 1,633,000 prime doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been assigned to Utah.
The state meets the HB294 benchmark in the first two statistics as of Wednesday. The 14-day rate in Utah is now 169.9 per 100,000 people, and the seven-day COVID-19 ICU use average is now 11.1%.
A total of 1,335,645 prime doses have been assigned to Utah so far. According to health officials, the state is expected to meet the standard of 1,633,000 prime doses by the second or third week of May. The first dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine cycles, as well as the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, are considered prime doses.
