SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health reported 4,672 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with an additional 13 deaths, breaking the record number of cases reported in a single day.
The health department now estimates that there are 50,904 active cases of the disease in Utah.
The sudden increase in cases occurs after the state has seen a steady decrease in cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks. In November, officials feared an increase on Thanksgiving Day, but were happy to report only a small increase after the holiday.
However, with Thursday’s figures, an increase in Christmas-related cases is a possibility.
Governor-elect Spencer Cox wrote on Twitter that while it is possible that the sharp increase in cases may be due to the few tests last week, it is possibly the beginning of a holiday-related increase.
“Our fear is that people will be less cautious during Christmas,” he wrote in a tweet. “If you’re planning big meetings to celebrate New Year’s Eve, reconsider.”
The numbers
The average number of seven consecutive days of positive cases per day is now 2,288, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 25.6%. The total number of deaths since the pandemic began is now 1,269.
Of the 1,726,003 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 16% tested positive for COVID-19. The health department reported that 11,412 new people were tested for COVID-19 on Thursday.
There are now 510 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, with 158 in intensive care units, state data show. The total number of hospitalizations since the beginning of the outbreak is already 10,956.
About 83.2% of all ICU beds were occupied in Utah on Thursday, including about 87% of the ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 55.7% of non-ICU hospital beds are occupied, state data show.
A total of 30,200 COVID-19 vaccines have already been administered, against 23,970 on Wednesday, according to state data. Health officials note that there is a delay in reporting data of up to seven days from the time the doses of the vaccine are sent to Utah, administered to patients and reported to the state health department. The state reported on Wednesday that more than 125,000 total doses of vaccines have been shipped or approved for shipment to Utah.
This story will be updated.
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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Lauren Bennett