SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health on Sunday reported 1,819 new cases of COVID-19 in the state and seven new deaths from the disease.
This brings Utah to 283,473 confirmed cases and 1,301 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
The health department says 486 Utahns are currently hospitalized for coronavirus, including 164 in intensive care.
In the last week, the state has an average of 2,652 new confirmed cases per day and a positive test rate of 29.2%. That percentage is the highest so far. Only 4,802 people were tested compared to Saturday’s number, although the total tests performed increased by 9,109.
The health department reports that 47,382 Utahns received a first dose of coronavirus vaccine, up from just a thousand on Saturday, although the health department constantly warns that there is “a gap between when vaccines are shipped, administered to a person and, Finally, they reported to them. The vaccine is first addressed to the elderly and front-line medical staff in the state.
Six of the deaths reported on Sunday were by men:
- A Salt Lake County resident over the age of 85 who lived in a long-term care facility
- A Washington County resident between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Washington resident over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized
- A Washington County resident between the ages of 65 and 84 who was not hospitalized
- A Utah resident, aged 65 to 84, who was hospitalized
- A Utah resident over the age of 85 who lived in a long-term care facility
A woman from Weber County between the ages of 65 and 84, who was hospitalized when she died, was also listed.
The state leadership, both as a whole and in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, will make the transition on Monday, as the elected governor, Spencer Cox, takes the oath of office. Cox will be tasked with accelerating the launch of the vaccine in Utah and keeping Utahns vigilant in the waning months of the pandemic, after nearly a year of precautions against coronavirus.
This week
Methodology:
Test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after confirmation, but negative test results cannot be reported for 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported daily by the Utah Department of Health includes all COVID-19 cases since the onset of the Utah outbreak, including those currently infected, those recovering 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 did not die.
The referral hospitals are the 16 hospitals in Utah with the capacity to provide the best COVID-19 healthcare.
State-reported deaths usually occurred two to seven days before they are reported, according to the health department. Some deaths may come from the back, especially if the person is from Utah but died in another state.
The Department of Health reports both confirmed and probable deaths in the COVID-19 case, as defined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiology. The number of deaths may change as case investigations are completed.
For deaths that are reported as COVID-19 deaths, the person would not have died if they did not have COVID-19, according to the health department.
The data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit the local health district website.
More information on Utah health guidance levels is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
The information comes from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health compiles 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