SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose 1,591 on Wednesday, with 12 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Three of those deaths occurred before Jan. 14, but were still being investigated by the Utah state doctor’s office, according to the health department.
Currently, there are an estimated 35,431 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah, according to the Department of Health. The average continuous number of seven positive days a day is now 1,334, according to the health department. The positive daily test rate for that time period is now 16.6%.
There are now 352 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 119 in intensive care, state data show. About 75 percent of Utah’s intensive care unit beds have been filled since Wednesday, including about 79 percent of ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 54 percent of non-ICU hospital beds are filled, according to the health department.
A total of 345,179 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 325,457 on Tuesday. Of these, 77,824 are the second dose of vaccine, according to state data.
The new figures indicate a 0.5% increase in positive cases on Tuesday. Of the 2,044,811 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17.1% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests performed increased by 16,507 as of Wednesday, and 9,149 of these were tests in people who had not been previously tested for COVID-19.
The 12 deaths reported on Wednesday were:
- 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
- A man from Utah County, who was between 45 and 64 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Utah County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Weber County who was over 85 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- A woman from Box Elder County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- A woman in Davis County who was over 85 and living in a long-term care facility
- A woman from Davis County who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- A woman from Salt Lake County who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- A woman from Washington County who was between 65 and 84 years old and who lived in a long-term care facility
Wednesday’s totals give 350,000 confirmed cases in Utah, with 13,648 total hospitalizations and 1,697 total deaths from the disease. A total of 312,872 cases of Utah COVID-19 are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, is scheduled to provide an update on the pandemic on Thursday at 11 a.m., according to the governor’s office.
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 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