Utah reports eight more deaths from the coronavirus and 3,489 new cases

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Nearly 17,000 have now been vaccinated and the ICU’s capacity has fallen to a low in December.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) “I didn’t even feel it,” said VA health technician Diane Perkins, who received the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, is one of 113 VA Medical Centers nationwide to receive the first limited supply of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. While primary care health workers at Utah hospitals continue to receive vaccinations this week, including employees at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dec. 23, 2020, those working in long-term care facilities will receive their first doses Monday.

| December 26, 2020, 7:11 PM

| Updated: 8:30 PM

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Utah reported 3,489 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday and eight deaths since Thursday.

Most of those cases – 2,498 – would have been reported Friday, when no new songs were released due to Christmas. The remaining 991 were new cases reported Saturday, according to the state’s Department of Health.

For the past week, the state has achieved an average of 2,153 new positive test results per day. The average positive test rate for the past seven days is 24% – an indicator, health officials have said, that many infected Utahns are still not being tested.

Since the start of the pandemic, 264,078 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19.

The state’s death toll from the coronavirus rose to 1,212 on Saturday. The eight new deaths:

  • A Weber County man between the ages of 65 and 84.

  • A Weber County man over age 85.

  • A Box Elder County man between the ages of 45 and 64.

  • A Utah County man aged 65 to 84.

  • A Davis County woman between 65 and 84.

  • A Salt Lake County woman between the ages of 45 and 64.

  • A Millard County woman aged 65 to 84.

  • A Washington County woman over 85 years old.

All eight Utahns were hospitalized at the time of death, and there are currently 481 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state. The health department’s coronavirus dashboard shows that 172 of those people are in the intensive care unit.

For the first time this month, the state reported that less than 85% of IC beds were filled. As of Saturday, that number was 81.7% – down from 88.4% on Thursday – with 83.7% of IC beds in the state’s larger “ referral hospitals ” occupied.

Doctors and hospital administrators have said these numbers do not take into account fluctuations in the workforce, or the high demand for specialists and equipment when a large percentage of ICU patients are treated for the same disease. In practice, doctors have said that the quality of care begins to deteriorate as a result of informal rationing that occurs once ICs have reached about 85% of their capacity.

A total of 10,522 Utahns have been hospitalized since the outbreak struck.

The state reported that tests for 12,956 people have been processed as of Thursday. The health department said 8,879 of those would have been reported Friday, while the remaining 4,077 would have been reported Saturday.

As of Thursday, 2,102 vaccines have been administered, bringing the total to 16,924. That number is expected to rise significantly in the coming days as long-term care facilities and more rural hospitals begin to provide the vaccine.

Correction: December 26, 12:35 PM • Utah reported 3,489 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday. An earlier version gave an incorrect rating.

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