SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose 812 on Wednesday, with 14 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The Department of Health estimates that there are now 19,001 active cases of the disease in Utah.
The average continuous number of seven positive days a day is now 768, according to the health department. The positive daily test rate for that period compared to the ‘people over people’ method is now 13.1%. The positive seven-day average test rate calculated using the ‘test over test’ method is now 6.1%.
There are 222 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 91 in intensive care, state data show. About 74% of all beds in intensive care units in Utah are now occupied, including about 77% of the ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 51% of all non-ICU hospital beds are now occupied, according to the health department.
A total of 641,881 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 623,876 on Tuesday. Of these, 221,619 are the second dose of vaccine, state data show.
The new figures indicate a 0.2% increase in positive cases on Tuesday. Of the 2,180,594 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah to date, 16.9% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests conducted in Utah is now 3,744,344, up 19,389 on Tuesday. Of these, 7,631 were tests in individuals who had not been previously tested for COVID-19.
The 14 deaths reported on Wednesday include:
- Two men from Salt Lake County who were between 65 and 84 years old and were hospitalized when they died
- A man from Salt Lake County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Sevier County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Tooele County who was between 25 and 44 years old and was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Utah County who was over 85 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- Two men from Utah County who were between 65 and 84 years old and were hospitalized when they died
- A woman from Box Elder County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- Two women in Salt Lake County who are over 85 and not hospitalized when they die
- A woman in Salt Lake County who was over 85 and living in a long-term care facility
- A Utah woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Washington County who was over 85 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
Wednesday’s totals give Utah 368,601 confirmed cases in total, with 14,554 total hospitalizations and 1,879 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 347,721 cases of Utah COVID-19 are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, is scheduled to give a pandemic update at a news conference 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 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 ‘people over people’ method for the average seven-day positive test rate is calculated by dividing the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 by the total number of people tested. The ‘test over test’ method is calculated by dividing the total number of positive tests by the total number of tests administered.
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.