SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah increased by 1,216 on Friday, with an additional 17 deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Twelve of the deaths reported on Friday occurred before January 15, but were still being investigated by the Utah state medical examiner, the health department said.
The state now estimates that there are 32,727 active cases of the disease in Utah. The average number of positive cases per day over seven days is now 1,222, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 16.3%.
There are 349 patients with COVID-19 currently hospitalized in Utah, including 117 in intensive care, state data show. About 77% of beds in the intensive care unit in Utah are filled on Friday, including about 80% of the ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 60% of non-ICU hospital beds are occupied, according to state data.
382,881 vaccines have already been administered in the state, compared to 362,701 Thursday. Of these, 89,948 are second doses of the vaccine.
The new figures indicate an increase of 0.3% in positive cases since Thursday. Of the 2,061,926 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17.1% tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests performed increased by 14,075 on Friday, and 7,696 of them were tests from people who had not taken the COVID-19 test previously.
The deaths reported on Friday were:
- A Davis County woman who was over 85 and was not hospitalized when she died
- Two women from Salt Lake County over 85 and living in long-term care facilities
- A woman from Salt Lake County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Salt Lake County who was 65 to 84 years old and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A woman from Salt Lake County who was between 45 and 64 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- Two women from Utah County over 85 years of age were not hospitalized when they died
- A woman from Utah County who was 65 to 84 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Weber County who was over 85 and was not hospitalized when she died
- A Box Elder County man who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Cache County who was over 85 and was not hospitalized when he died
- A Davis County man who was over 85 and was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Morgan County who was between 45 and 64 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Morgan County over 85 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A man from Salt Lake County who was 65 to 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care institution
- A man from Washington County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when he died
Friday’s total gives Utah 352,489 confirmed cases, with 13,755 hospitalizations and 1,728 deaths from the disease. It is estimated that 318,034 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic at a news conference on Thursday.
Methodology:
The test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive results from the COVID-19 test are reported to the health department immediately after they are confirmed, but negative test results can take 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the Utah outbreak, including those who are infected, those who have recovered from the disease and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Referral hospitals are Utah’s 16 hospitals capable of providing the best COVID-19 healthcare.
Deaths reported by the state typically occurred two to seven days before they were reported, according to the health department. Some deaths can be even older, especially if the person is from Utah, but died in another state.
The health department reports deaths from confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases according to the case definition outlined by the State Council and Territorial Epidemiologists. Death counts are subject to change as case investigations are completed.
For deaths reported as deaths from COVID-19, the person would not have died if they did not have COVID-19, according to the health department.
The data included in this story mainly reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district’s website.
More information about Utah’s health guidance levels is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
The information is 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.