SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose 1,299 on Wednesday, with 17 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department estimates there are 29,337 active cases of the disease as of Wednesday – the first day the estimate has fallen below 30,000 since October 28.
Utah Department of Health Executive Director Rich Saunders told the Utah Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday afternoon that Utah will have enough doses to vaccinate every Utahn before June, according to Deseret News.
“We will reach the entire adult population, if 100% of them wanted it, by the end of May,” Saunders said.
According to the health department, the average number of positive cases per day for seven days is now 1,053. The positive daily test rate for that period reported by the ‘people over people’ method is now 15.3%. The positive daily test rate for that period reported by the “test over test” method is now 7%.
This week, the health department began reporting two different methods for calculating the average positive test rate seven days a day. The ‘people over people’ method is calculated by dividing the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 by the total number of people tested. The health department used this method to calculate the rolling average since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Agency now also reports the “test over test” method, which is calculated by dividing the total number of positive tests by the total number of tests administered. The “test over test” method accounts for duplicate positive and negative COVID-19 tests, if the “people over people” method does not.
The “people over people” method influences the higher average, while the “test over test” method is less biased, and the true average is believed to be somewhere in the middle, according to state Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn . The Department of Health will continue to provide both methods of daily reporting, which will help better compare the Utah pandemic with that of other states, Dunn said.
There are 323 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 131 in intensive care, state data show. About 80 percent of all beds in intensive care units in Utah have been occupied since Wednesday, including about 84 percent of ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals, according to state data. About 53 percent of Utah’s non-ICU hospital beds are filled Wednesday.
A total of 442,476 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 425,698 on Tuesday. Of these, 117,305 are the second dose of vaccine.
The new figures indicate a 0.4% increase in positive cases on Tuesday. Of the 2,094,809 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17.1% tested positive for COVID-19.
The total number of COVID-19s conducted in Utah since the beginning of the pandemic, including duplicate positive and negative tests, is now 3,522,246. This represents an increase of 23,334 tests performed on Tuesday, and 8,988 of these were tests in people who had not been previously tested for COVID-19.
The 17 deaths reported on Wednesday were:
- A man from Box Elder County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A woman from Box Elder County who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- A woman from Carbon County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- A man from Cache County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Salt Lake County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Salt Lake County who was over 85 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A man from Salt Lake County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when he died
- A woman in Salt Lake County who was over 85 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A man from Tooele County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A woman in Utah County who was over 85 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A man from Utah County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A Utah County man over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A woman in Wasatch County who was over 85 years of age and living in a long-term care facility
- A man from Weber County who was between 45 and 64 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A Weber County woman over the age of 85 who lived in a long-term care facility
- A man from Weber County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Weber County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was a resident of a long-term care institution
Wednesday’s total in Utah is 357,339 confirmed cases in total, with 14,007 total hospitalizations and 1,765 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 326,237 cases of Utah COVID-19 are now considered recovered, the health department reported.
There is no COVID-19 press conference scheduled for Wednesday. Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, is scheduled to deliver a pandemic update on Thursday at 11 a.m.
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.