SALT LAKE CITY – The gradual decline in cases confirmed by COVID-19 in Utah continued Sunday as the state health department reported 1,194 new cases, as well as two additional deaths from the disease.
The department also says 10,176 Utahns have been vaccinated against coronavirus, for a total of 310,692 doses now administered. More than 63,000 Utahns have now received a second dose of the vaccine, which is needed for maximum effectiveness.
Currently, 413 Utahns are hospitalized for coronavirus, including 131 in intensive care. It has fallen to statewide ICU capacity back below 85%, the point at which hospitals consider ICUs to be “functionally full”.
In the last week, the state has an average of 1,464 new cases reported per day and a positive test rate of 16.9%.
The new figures come as 12,862 more test results were reported on Saturday, including 6,472 Utahn tests that had not been tested before.
In total, Sunday’s update brings the state to 346,624 confirmed cases; 1,665 deaths; 3,339,677 total tests performed on 2,024,647 different people; and 13,468 related hospitalizations.
The two reported deaths were of an 85-year-old woman from Iron County who was hospitalized when she died; and a man from Weber County between the ages of 45 and 64 who was not hospitalized.
There is no COVID-19 press conference by state officials scheduled for the weekend. Governor Spencer Cox and health officials will update the public on the state’s response to the pandemic later this week; the conference usually takes place on Thursday.
Last 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 may not 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 health care.
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.
Graham Dudley