SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose by 1,761 on Thursday, with no more deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.
According to the health department, the average number of positive cases per seven-day day is 1,710. The positive daily test rate for this time period is now 18.3%.
Also Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and other state leaders provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic at a news conference. Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson and Utah State Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn also spoke at the event.
The event began at 11 p.m. See the replay of the press conference below.
New COVID-19 cases
The health department estimates that there are now 43,187 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah.
Aside from several holidays on which the state health department did not provide a statistical report of COVID-19, Thursday is the first day Utah has reported zero deaths from COVID-19 since September.
The new figures indicate a 0.5% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 2,000,023 people tested so far by COVID-19 in Utah, 17.1% tested positive for COVID-19. The number of total tests performed increased by 18,134 as of Thursday, and 10,917 of these were tests from people who had not been previously tested for COVID-19, according to state data.
There are now 444 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 157 in intensive care, according to state data. About 84 percent of Utah’s ICU beds are occupied Thursday, including about 89 percent of the ICU beds at the state’s 16 reference hospitals. According to the health department, about 56% of non-ICU hospital beds are occupied.
A total of 267,027 vaccines have been administered in the state since 250,448 on Wednesday. Of these, 43,089 are second vaccine doses, according to state data.
Thursday’s total gives Utah 342,445 confirmed cases in total, with 13,279 hospitalizations and 1,620 deaths from the disease. According to the health department, a total of 297,638 cases of COVID-19 in Utah are considered recovered.
This story will be updated.
Methodology:
Test results now include PCR test data and antigen testing. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after confirmation, but negative results may not be reported within 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported daily by the Utah Department of Health includes all cases of COVID-19 since the Utah outbreak began, including those that are currently infected, those that have recovered from the disease, and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and who has not died.
The reference hospitals are the 16 hospitals in Utah with the capacity to provide the best COVID-19 health care.
According to the health department, deaths reported by the state usually occur two to seven days before their notification. Some deaths may be even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but has died in another state.
The health department reports confirmed and probable deaths from COVID-19 cases as defined in the case reviewed by the Council of State and territorial epidemiologists. Death counts may change as investigations are completed.
According to the health department, for deaths reported as deaths from COVID-19, the person would not have died if they did not have COVID-19.
The data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district website.
You can learn more about Utah health guidance levels at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
The information comes 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 bottom of the page.
Jacob Klopfenstein