Utah reports an additional 17 COVID-19 deaths

Seventeen Utahns have died of COVID-19, the Utah Department of Health reported Wednesday, as the number of new cases jumped back from over 1,000 to nearly 1,300.

And the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals – and intensive care units – continued to drop, after a drop last week.

Vaccinations reported in the past day / total vaccinations • 16,778 / 442,476.

Number of Utahns that have received two doses • 117,305.

Cases reported in the past day • 1,299.

Deaths reported in the past day • 17.

Salt Lake County reported four deaths: a man between the ages of 65 and 84, and two men and a woman aged 85 or older.

There were also four deaths in Weber County: a man aged 45 to 64, a man aged 65 to 84, and a man and woman aged 85 or older.

Three Utah County residents died: two men and a woman, all 85 years of age or older.

Box Elder County reported two deaths: a man and a woman, both 65 to 84.

And there was a single death in each of the four counties – a man aged 65 to 84 in Tooele County, and three people aged 85 or older: a man in Cache County and women from Carbon and Wasatch counties.

Hospital admissions reported in the past day • 323. There are four from Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 131 are in intensive care – seven more than on Tuesday.

Tests reported in the past day • 8,988 people were tested for the first time. A total of 23,334 people were tested on Tuesday.

Percentage of positive tests • According to the state’s original method, the rate is 14.5%. That is slightly lower than the seven-day average of 15.3%.

The new method counts all test results, including repeated tests from the same person. That percentage is now 5.6%, lower than the seven-day average of 7%.

Totals so far • 357,339 cases; 1,765 dead; 14,007 hospital admissions; 2,094,809 people tested.