SALT LAKE CITY – After the start of New Year’s Day, the Utah Department of Health’s first report of 2021 shows 5,042 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 new deaths in the state.
The department says 3,110 of those cases, and nine of the deaths, would have been reported Friday.
With the update, Utah has now seen 281,654 confirmed cases and 1,294 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. The health department says 14,900 more Utahns have been tested compared to Thursday’s numbers and a total of 1,740,903 Utahns have now been tested in total.
There are currently 487 Utahns hospitalized for the coronavirus, 152 of them in intensive care, and 11,101 total hospitalizations since the pandemic hit Utah last year.
In the past week, the state has an average of 2,506 new cases reported per day and a positive test rate of 27.4%.
Amid concerns about the speed at which the two approved coronavirus vaccines are deployed, Utah reported on Saturday 46,374 vaccine doses have been administered to date. That’s more than 16,000 doses compared to the number reported on New Year’s Eve; both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require multiple doses.
No press conference on the coronavirus from state leaders is scheduled for the weekend. Gov. Gary Herbert, who led most news conferences in 2020, is leaving office and will be formally replaced on Monday by elected Spencer Cox government.
We will report 46,374 vaccines administered. Remember, “doses administered” is the number of vaccine doses given to humans and reported to the UDOH. There will be a delay between when vaccines are sent, given to an individual, and finally reported to us.
– Utah Dept. of Health (@UtahDepOfHealth) January 2, 2021
Among the 25 deaths reported in the past two days include six Salt Lake County residents:
- Two men aged 65 to 84 who lived in long-term care facilities
- Two women aged 65-84 who were hospitalized when they died
- A man between 65 and 84 years old who was hospitalized
- A woman over 85 who was hospitalized
They also include six Davis County residents:
- A man between 65 and 84 years old who was hospitalized
- A woman between 25 and 44 years old who was not hospitalized
- Three men over 85 years old living in long-term care facilities
- A woman aged 65 to 84 living in a long-term care facility
Multiple deaths have also occurred in Washington, San Juan, Utah, and Uintah counties, with others scattered across the state:
- A woman over 85 from Washington County living in a long-term care facility
- A Washington County man aged between 45 and 64 who was hospitalized
- A man in Washington County aged 65 to 84 who was hospitalized
- A woman over 85 in Utah County living in a long-term care facility
- A man over 85 from Utah County living in a long-term care facility
- A woman over 85 in Uintah County who was not hospitalized
- A man in Uintah County aged 65-84 who was hospitalized
- A woman from San Juan County between the ages of 25 and 44 who was hospitalized
- A man from San Juan County between the ages of 25 and 44 who was hospitalized
- A Box Elder County woman aged 65 to 84 who was hospitalized
- A woman from Weber County between the ages of 45 and 64 who was not hospitalized
- A man from Duchesne County between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized
- A woman from Sanpete County between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized
An initial email from the Utah Department of Health incorrectly stated the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the state; it corrected that number in a follow-up email.
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 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, according to the health department. Some deaths may be 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 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.
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Graham Dudley