SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose by 1,761 on Thursday, and no more deaths have been reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now 1,710, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 18.3%.
Also on Thursday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox and other state leaders gave a COVID-19 pandemic update at a news conference. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Utah Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn also spoke at the event.
The event started at 11 am. Watch the rerun of the press conference below.
New COVID-19 case
The health department estimates there are now 43,187 active COVID-19 cases in Utah.
Aside from several vacations where the state health service has not provided a COVID-19 statistics report, Thursday is the first day that Utah has not reported any new COVID-19 deaths since September.
The new numbers indicate an increase of 0.5% in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 2,000,023 people tested for COVID-19 so far in Utah, 17.1% have tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests conducted increased by 18,134 as of Thursday, and 10,917 of those were tests from people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to state data.
There are currently 444 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 157 in intensive care units, state data shows. About 84% of the IC beds in Utah were occupied on Thursday, including about 89% of the IC beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. According to the health department, about 56% of non-intensive care hospital beds in Utah are occupied.
A total of 267,027 vaccines have been administered in the state, up from 250,448 Wednesday. Of these, 43,089 are second doses, state data shows.
Thursday’s totals give Utah a total of 342,445 confirmed cases, with 13,279 total hospitalizations and 1,620 total deaths from the disease. According to the health department, a total of 297,638 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
This story is being updated.
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 after they are confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported until after 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 start of the Utah outbreak, including those currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who are passed away.
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 they were reported, the health department said. 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. To learn more about 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