SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah increased by 2,892 on Thursday, with nine more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department estimates that there are 54,541 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah on Thursday. The average number of positive cases per day for seven days is now 2,379, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 24%.
Of the 1,677,510 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 15.5% tested positive for COVID-19. Another 10,631 additional tests were conducted until Thursday, state data show.
There are 561 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, state data show. Of these, 180 occupy beds in intensive care units across the state. About 88.4% of all ICU beds in the state are occupied until Thursday, with 91.5% occupancy in Utah’s 16 referral hospitals. About 53% of non-ICU hospital beds are occupied in Utah on Thursday.
The health department reported that 14,822 COVID-19 vaccines were administered in Utah on Thursday. The Department of Health noted that the doses administered are the number of doses of the vaccine that were given to people and reported to UDOH.
“There will be an interval between the time when vaccines are sent, administered to a person and finally reported to UDOH,” says the statement. “As soon as people in Utah start receiving their second dose of the vaccine, UDOH will also report the total number of people vaccinated. The data is preliminary and UDOH will report additional data as it becomes available.”
The nine deaths reported on Thursday were:
- Two Salt Lake County men aged 65-84
- A Salt Lake County man over 85 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A Davis County man between 45-64 years of age and was hospitalized when he died
- A Utah county man over 85 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- Two women from Salt Lake County between 65 and 84 who were hospitalized when they died
- A Utah county woman aged 22-55 and she was hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Weber County between 45-64 years old and she was hospitalized when she died
Thursday’s total gives Utah 260,589 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, 10,406 people have been hospitalized and 1,204 people have died from the disease.
It is estimated that a total of 204,844 Utah COVID-19 cases have been recovered, state data show.
There is no COVID-19 press conference scheduled for this week. The health department will not update Utah’s COVID-19 statistics on Friday in keeping with the Christmas holiday.
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.
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Jen Riess