SALT LAKE CITY – The state health department reports 2,408 new test-confirmed cases and eight deaths from COVID-19 Saturday as part of the daily release of updated coronavirus statistics in Utah.
That brings Utah to 248,970 total reported cases and 1,148 coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic. In an email, the health department said that seven of the deaths reported Saturday when Utahns were hospitalized at the time:
- A Salt Lake County man aged 65 to 84
- A Salt Lake County man aged between 45 and 64
- A woman in Salt Lake County between the ages of 45 and 64
- Two women in Salt Lake County between the ages of 65 and 84
- A Box Elder County man between the ages of 65 and 84
- A Davis County woman aged between 45 and 64
A Utah County man over 85 was not hospitalized when he died, officials said.
The health department began providing additional information on COVID-19 vaccinations in Utah on Saturday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines so far, from Pfizer and Moderna, and the Pfizer vaccine is used in Utah. The health department reports that 3,648 first doses of the vaccine have been administered so far; the Pfizer vaccine requires two doses.
The department also reported that 23,400 doses of vaccine have been shipped to Utah by the federal government to date.
“There will be a delay between when vaccines are sent, given to a person, and finally reported to the UDOH,” the department said in an email. “For this reason, the number of people vaccinated may lag 7 days or more behind the total number of vaccines sent.”
Utah is currently in the process of vaccinating medical personnel in the state. Frontline workers working with COVID-19 patients were considered the top priority for vaccination.
On Saturday, the health department said 559 Utahns are currently hospitalized because of COVID-19 and 218 of those patients are intensive. The new case figure comes when 10,101 Utahns have been tested.
In the past week, the state has an average of 2,454 new cases reported per day and a positive test rate of 22.1%.
No press conference on the coronavirus from state leaders is scheduled this weekend. On Thursday, Governor Gary Herbert announced at a conference that the state has ended its 10 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales in bars and restaurants, as well as that Utah has relaxed its guidelines for when students should go into quarantine after possible exposure to COVID-19.
In Utah, a total of 85 deaths from the coronavirus were reported this week between Monday and Friday.
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 for 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 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 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 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 about Utah’s 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.
Graham Dudley