SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose 1,517 on Friday, with another 35 deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The new reported deaths reflect a total of two days on Thursday and Friday. A data transmission error led to the health department not including deaths in Thursday’s COVID-19 statistics report.
Sixteen of the deaths in Friday’s report should have been included in Thursday’s report, according to the health department. Six of the deaths included in Friday’s report occurred before the first year, but were still being investigated by the Utah state doctor’s office.
The Department of Health now estimates that there are 40,845 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah. According to the health department, the average number of positive cases per day for seven days is now 1,550. The positive daily test rate for that period is now 18.1%.
There are 446 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 148 in intensive care, state data show. About 88% of all beds in intensive care units in Utah have been filled since Friday, including 92% of ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 60 percent of non-ICU hospital beds are filled in Utah, according to the Department of Health.
A total of 281,797 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 267,027 on Thursday. Of these, 48,263 are the second dose that has been administered since Friday, state data show.
The new figures indicate a 0.4% increase in positive cases on Thursday. Of the 2,009,407 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah to date, 17.2% tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests performed increased by 13,172 on Friday, and 9,384 of them were tests in people who had not been previously tested for COVID-19, according to the health department.
Governor Spencer Cox celebrated the figures in a tweet saying there was a decline in health care workers.
Can I share some hopeful news? While the number of cases is declining across the country, we have seen a much sharper decline (around 26%) among health workers in recent days. Because they were the first to receive the vaccine, this is the first real proof we have that it works! 👊
– Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) January 29, 2021
The 35 deaths reported on Friday were:
- Two men from Box Elder County, aged 65 to 84, who were hospitalized when they died
- A man from Carbon County who was between 45 and 64 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Davis County who was between 45 and 64 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A woman in Davis County who was over 85 and living in a long-term care facility
- A man from Iron County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- Two men from Salt Lake County who were between 65 and 84 years old and were residents of long-term care units
- Two women from Salt Lake County who are over 85 years old and have been residents of long-term care facilities
- A man from Salt Lake County who was between 45 and 64 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- Two men in Salt Lake County who were over 85 and were residents of long-term care facilities
- A man from Salt Lake County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Salt Lake County who was between 25 and 44 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A woman from Salt Lake County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- Two men from Salt Lake County who were between 65 and 84 years old and were hospitalized when they died
- Two men from Salt Lake County, aged 45 to 64, who were hospitalized when they died
- Two women from Salt Lake County who were between 65 and 84 years old and were hospitalized when they died
- A man from Summit County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A woman from Tooele County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- A man from Tooele County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was a resident of a long-term care institution
- A Utah County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 who lived in a long-term care facility
- A Utah woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- Three men from Utah County who were between the ages of 65 and 84 and were hospitalized when they died
- A woman from Washington County who was between 45 and 64 years old and who lived in a long-term care facility
- A woman from Weber County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was a resident of a long-term care institution
- A woman from Weber County who was between 45 and 64 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- A Weber County woman over the age of 85 who lived in a long-term care facility
- A woman from Weber County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when she died
Friday’s total in Utah is 343,962 confirmed cases in total, with 13,353 hospitalizations in total and 1,655 deaths in total due to the disease. The Department of Health estimates that 301,462 cases of Utah COVID-19 are now recovered.
There is no COVID-19 press conference scheduled for Friday. Utah officials on Thursday gave an update on the pandemic at a news conference.
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 cases of COVID-19 since the onset of the Utah outbreak, including those who are 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 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 State Council and Territorial Epidemiologists. 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.
Jacob Klopfenstein