SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose Tuesday by 315, with eight more deaths and 18,065 reported vaccinations, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Four of the deaths occurred before March 20, but state medical investigators were still investigating, according to the health department.
The health department estimates there were 8,477 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah as of Tuesday. According to the health department, the average number of positive cases per day seven days a day is 375. The percentage of positive tests per day for this time period calculated using the “people on people” method is now 6, 7%. The positive test rate per day for this time period calculated with the “test over test” method is now 3.2%.
There are currently 138 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 54 in intensive care, according to state data. Currently, approximately 66% of all intensive care beds in Utah are occupied, including approximately 69% of the ICU beds of the state’s 16 reference hospitals, according to the health department. About 51% of non-ICU hospital beds are now occupied in the state.
A total of 1,916,922 doses of vaccine have been administered in the state, up from 1,898,857 on Monday. A total of 1,202,333 Utahns, or approximately 50.6% of all vaccine-eligible residents age 16 and older, have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the health department. A total of 799,291 Utahns, or approximately 33.6% of the state’s vaccine-eligible population, are now considered fully vaccinated.
According to the health department, about 24.9% of all Utahns, including those under the age of 16 who are not currently eligible for the vaccine, are fully vaccinated. About 37.5% of all Utahns have received at least one dose of vaccine. A total of 2,168,470 doses of vaccine have been sent to Utah so far, the health department reported.
The new figures indicate an increase of 0.08% in positive cases since Monday. Of the 2,498,939 people tested so far to detect COVID-19 in Utah, 15.7% tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests conducted since the Utah pandemic began is now 4,510,088, an increase of 13,574 since Monday, according to the health department. Of these, 5,100 were tests of people who had not been tested for the disease.
The eight deaths reported on Tuesday were:
- A Carbon County woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- A Salt Lake County woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not hospitalized when she died
- A woman from Sanpete County who was over 85 and resided in a long-term care center
- A Uintah County woman who was over 85 years old and resided in a long-term care facility
- A Uintah County woman who was between 45 and 64 years old and was hospitalized when she died
- A Utah County man who was over 85 years old and resided in a long-term care facility
- A Weber County man who was between 25 and 44 years old and was hospitalized when he died
- A woman from Weber County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was hospitalized when she died
Tuesday’s total gives Utah 393,272 confirmed cases, with 15,959 hospitalizations and 2,174 deaths from the disease. The health department estimates that there are now 382,621 recovered cases of COVID-19 in Utah.
Utah’s “final” pandemic bill, formally known as HB294, requires that all local and state health orders related to COVID-19 end on the day Utah reaches the threshold in three key metrics: the state’s 14-day case rate is less than 191 per 100,000 people, the average seven-day use of the COVID-19 intensive care unit is less than 15% and they have been assigned to Utah 1,633,000 main doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Tuesday, the threshold is being met in the first two statistics. The current rate of COVID-19 cases in Utah per 100,000 people is now 170.4 and the average ICU use of COVID-19 over the past week is now 11.3%, according to the state data.
A total of 1,335,645 major doses have been assigned to Utah as of Tuesday. The state is expected to meet the 1,633,000 reference doses by the second or third week of May. The first dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine cycles, as well as the only dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, are considered major doses.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Gov. Deidre Henderson are scheduled to provide an update on the COVID-19 pandemic at its weekly press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the governor’s office. .
Also Tuesday, the health department announced that state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn will step down this summer to become the executive director of the Salt Lake County health department.
