SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose 901 on Wednesday, with 10 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Six of the deaths occurred last month, but were still being investigated by the state doctor’s office, the health department said. The lone death reported on Tuesday, a man who was over 85 and hospitalized when he died, was removed from the total number of deaths because investigators determined he was not a resident of Utah.
The Department of Health now estimates that there are 22,973 active cases of COVID-19 in the state. According to the health department, the average number of positive cases per day for seven days is now 845. The positive daily test rate for that period reported by the “people over people” method is now 13.5%. The average positive test rate reported by the “test over test” method is now 6.1%.
There are now 263 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 99 in intensive care, state data show. This is the first time Utah has less than 100 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units in October.
About 72 percent of Utah’s total hospital beds are occupied Wednesday, including about 77 percent of intensive care beds in 16 state-run hospitals, according to the health department. About 49% of non-ICU hospital beds are now occupied in Utah.
A total of 551,068 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 532,985 on Tuesday. Of these, 173,925 are the second dose of vaccine.
The new figures indicate a 0.2% increase in positive cases on Tuesday. Of the 2,136,588 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah to date, 17.1% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests conducted since the beginning of the pandemic has now risen to 3,631,393 – up from 20,286 on Tuesday. Of these, 7,063 were tested in individuals who had not been previously tested for COVID-19.
The ten deaths reported on Wednesday were:
- A woman from Cache County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- A man from Carbon County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- Two men from Davis County who were over 85 years old and were residents of long-term care units
- A woman from Salt Lake County who was between 45 and 64 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Salt Lake County, who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- A man from Salt Lake County who was between 44 and 65 years old and was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Utah County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Washington County who was over 85 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- A woman in Washington County who was over 85 years old and living in a long-term care facility
Wednesday’s totals give Utah 363,248 confirmed cases in total, with 14,294 hospitalizations in total and 1,806 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 338,469 COVID-19 cases in Utah 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 expected to provide a COVID-19 update during his monthly news conference with PBS Utah at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Methodology:
Test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately upon 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-by-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.