SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose by 716 on Tuesday, with 12 more deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Seven of the deaths occurred last month but were still under investigation by state medical inspectors, according to the health department. A total of 11,966 additional vaccine doses were also administered.
The health department estimates that there are now 19,767 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah. That’s the first time the estimate has dropped below 20,000 since Oct. 2, according to state data.
The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now 779, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period reported with the “people over people” method is now 13.3%. The positive test rate per day averaged over seven days with the “test over test” method is now 6.2%.
There are now 239 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 95 in intensive care units, state data shows. About 69% of all intensive care beds in the state of Utah have been filled as of Tuesday, including about 73% of the intensive care beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. According to the health department, about 46% of non-IC hospital beds were occupied in Utah on Tuesday.
A total of 623,876 vaccines were administered in the state, an increase from 611,910 Monday. Of these, 213,278 are second doses of the vaccine.
The new numbers indicate an increase of 0.2% in positive cases since Monday. Of the 2,172,963 people tested for COVID-19 so far in Utah, 17% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests performed now stands at 3,724,955, up from 18,480 since Monday. Of those, 6,458 were tests from people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to state data.
The 12 deaths reported on Tuesday were:
- A Cache County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- A Davis County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- A Davis County man between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County woman over the age of 85 living in a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was not hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Salt Lake County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- A Sevier County woman who was over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized when she died
- A Sevier County woman who was over the age of 85 living in a long-term care facility
- A Utah County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- A Washington County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and lived in a long-term care facility
- A man from Weber County who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
Tuesday’s totals give Utah a total of 367,789 confirmed cases, with 14,520 total hospitalizations and 1,865 total deaths from the disease. An estimated total of 346,157 COVID-19 cases have now been recovered, state data shows.
The health department also renewed the state’s emergency health mandate regarding COVID-19, replacing the previous order that expired Monday night. The new order includes updated information on when mask mandates can be waived in certain Utah counties, bar regulations, the state’s transmission index, and several other items.
There is no press conference on COVID-19 scheduled for Tuesday. The Utah government, Spencer Cox, will provide a pandemic update at a news conference 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 upon confirmation, but negative test results may not be reported until 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 “people over people” method for the seven-day mean positive test rate is calculated by dividing the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 by the total number of people tested. The “test over test” method is calculated by dividing the total number of positive tests by the total number of tests administered.
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.