SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health said on Saturday that there are 2,613 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed by testing in the state and nine more Utahns have died of the disease.
This leads Utah to 303,723 confirmed cases and 1,390 deaths since the pandemic began.
The seven-day continuous positive test rate is 32.6%, the department said, and the state has an average of 3,147 new cases reported each day during that time.
Currently, there are 535 Utahns hospitalized due to 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 vaccine have already been administered across the state, more than 10,000 more than reported on Friday. Vaccines require two doses for maximum effectiveness.
In an email, the health department said the nine Utahns who died included:
- A Davis County man between 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
- Two men from Salt Lake County between 45 and 64 who were hospitalized when they died
- A Salt Lake County man between 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Salt Lake County man over 85 who was not hospitalized when he died
- A man from Salt Lake County over 85 who was hospitalized when he died
- A man from Uintah County over 85 who was not hospitalized when he died
- Two men from Weber County between 65 and 84 who were hospitalized when they died
Men now account for more than 62% of coronavirus-related deaths in Utah. Utahns over 64 account for 8% of the state’s total cases, but 77% of their deaths, and over 13% of Utahns over 84 who tested positive for COVID-19 died from it.
There is no press conference on the state leaders’ coronavirus scheduled for the weekend, but new governor Spencer Cox led one on Friday at the state capitol. Cox said Utah school teachers will have access to the vaccine starting on Monday and outlined a plan to accelerate the delivery of the vaccine, as well as an interim schedule for the next phases of access to the vaccine.
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.
Related stories
Graham Dudley