SALT LAKE CITY – After New Year’s Day took off, the first report of the Utah Department of Health in 2021 shows 5,042 new cases confirmed by COVID-19 and 25 new deaths in the state.
The department says 3,110 of those cases and nine of the deaths were reported Friday.
With the update, Utah has now recorded a total of 281,654 confirmed cases and 1,294 deaths caused by COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The health department says 14,900 more Utahns were tested over Thursday and that a total of 1,740,903 Utahns were now tested overall.
There are 487 Utahns currently hospitalized for coronavirus, including 152 in intensive care and 11,101 total hospitalizations since the pandemic hit Utah last year.
In the last week, the state has an average of 2,506 new cases reported per day and a positive test rate of 27.4%.
Amid concerns about the speed of the two approved coronavirus vaccines, Utah reported 46,374 doses of vaccine on Saturday so far. This is over 16,000 doses of the number reported on New Year’s Eve; both the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine require multiple doses.
There is no coronavirus press conference scheduled for the weekend. Gov. Gary Herbert, who chaired most news conferences in 2020, is stepping down and will be officially replaced by elected governor Spencer Cox on Monday.
We will report 46,374 vaccines administered. Remember, “Doses administered” is the number of vaccine doses that have been given to humans and reported to the UDOH. There will be a gap between the time the vaccines are shipped, administered to one person and finally reported to us.
– Utah Dept. of Health (@UtahDepOfHealth) January 2, 2021
The 25 deaths reported in the past two days include six Salt Lake County residents:
- Two men between the ages of 65 and 84 who were residents of a long-term care institution
- Two women aged between 65 and 84 who were hospitalized when they died
- A man aged between 65 and 84, who was hospitalized
- A woman over 85 who was hospitalized
They also include six Davis County residents:
- A man aged between 65 and 84 who was hospitalized
- A woman aged between 25 and 44 who was not hospitalized
- Three men over the age of 85 who were residents of a long-term care institution
- A woman between the ages of 65 and 84 who was a resident of a long-term care institution
Washington, San Juan, Utah and Uintah also recorded several deaths, with others spread across the state:
- A woman in Washington County over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A man from Washington County, aged between 45 and 64, who was hospitalized
- A man from Washington County, aged between 65 and 84, who was hospitalized
- A woman in Utah County over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Utah County man over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A woman from Uintah County over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized
- A man from Uintah County between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized
- A woman from San Juan County, aged between 25 and 44, who was hospitalized
- A man from San Juan County, aged between 25 and 44, who was hospitalized
- A woman from Box Elder County, aged between 65 and 84, who was hospitalized
- A woman from Weber County aged between 45 and 64, who was not hospitalized
- A man from Duchesne County aged between 65 and 84, who was hospitalized
- A woman from Sanpete County aged between 65 and 84 who was hospitalized
A first e-mail from the Utah Department of Health incorrectly stated the total number of coronavirus-related deaths recorded in the state; corrected that number in a tracking email.
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 Council of State and Territorial Epidemiology. 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