SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health said Saturday that there are 2,613 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 testing in the state and nine more Utahns have died from the disease.
This brings Utah to 303,723 confirmed cases and 1,390 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
The seven-day positive test rate is 32.6%, the department said, and the state has an average of 3,147 new cases reported per day during that time.
Currently, 535 Utahns have been hospitalized for COVID-19, including 181 in intensive care, contributing to a statewide use of ICU of over 90%.
The health department says 99,612 doses of the vaccine have now been administered statewide, more than 10,000 more than were reported Friday. Vaccines require two doses for maximum effectiveness.
In an email, the health department said the nine Utahns who died include:
- A man from Davis County, aged 65 to 84, who was hospitalized when he died
- Two men from Salt Lake County between the ages of 45 and 64 who were hospitalized when they died
- A man from Salt Lake County, aged 65 to 84, who was hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County man over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Salt Lake County over the age of 85 who was hospitalized when he died
- A man in Uintah County over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized when he died
- Two men from Weber County aged between 65 and 84 who were hospitalized when they died
Men now account for more than 62% of coronavirus-related deaths in Utah. Utahs over the age of 64 account for 8% of the state’s total number of cases, but 77% of its deaths and more than 13% of Utahs over the age of 84 who tested positive for COVID-19 died because of it. .
There is no coronavirus press conference scheduled for the weekend, but new governor Spencer Cox led one on Friday from the state chapter. Cox said Utah school teachers will receive access to the vaccine starting Monday and outlined a plan to speed up the distribution of vaccines, as well as a tentative timeline for the next phases of access to the vaccine.
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 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.
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Graham Dudley