The state is reporting 570 new cases of the virus and an additional five deaths.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Amanda Bayly administers a Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccination to Jay Gaisford, at TOSH – The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Government Spencer Cox announced on Thursday that Utahns age 50 and older can schedule appointments next Monday to get their COVID-19 vaccinations, Cox said that younger adult Utahns with certain health conditions such as diabetes, type 1 or type 2, obesity with a BMI index of 30 or higher, and everyone with chronic kidney disease is also eligible.
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Utah saw the lowest number of people with COVID-19 in intensive care units Saturday since early October.
The Ministry of Health reported that there were 75 people with the virus in the ICU on Saturday. After October 5, when there were 79 in the ICU, that number fluctuated to 231 in the following months.
Saturday also marked the lowest number of people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 overall, at 194, since the beginning of October.
Vaccinations administered in the past day / total vaccinations • 26,098 / 843,032.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 304,168.
Cases reported in the past day • 570.
Deaths reported in the past day • 5.
Salt Lake County reported the deaths of three women. One was between 25 and 44 years old, the other between 45 and 64 years old, and the third was older than 85.
Weber and Uintah counties each reported one death – a man and a woman, respectively – both aged between 45 and 64.
Hospital admissions reported in the past day • 194. That is nine less than Friday. Of those currently hospitalized, 77 are in intensive care units – eight fewer than on Friday.
Tests reported in the past day • 7,052 people were first tested. A total of 18,594 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the state’s original method, the rate is 8.1%. That is slightly lower than the seven-day average of 9.5%.
The new method counts all test results, including repeated tests from the same person. The rate for Saturday is now 3.1%, lower than the seven-day average of 4.6%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals so far • 374,438 cases; 1,975 dead; 14,867 hospital admissions; 2,243,694 people tested.