SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose Tuesday by 591, with one more death, according to the Utah Department of Health.
There are now an estimated 24,911 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah.
The average number of positive cases per day seven days a day is now 950, the second day in a row that has been less than 1,000, according to the health department. The percentage of positive tests per day for this time period calculated using the “people on people” method is now 13.7%. The average positive seven-day test rate calculated using the “test over test” method is 6.42%.
There are currently 272 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 104 in intensive care, according to state data. Approximately 75% of all intensive care beds in Utah are filled on Tuesday, including approximately 79% of ICU beds at the state’s 16 reference hospitals. Approximately 51% of non-ICU hospital beds are also filled, according to state data.
A total of 532,985 vaccines have been administered in the state, up from 525,033 on Sunday. Of these, 160,809 are second doses of the vaccine.
The new numbers indicate an increase of 0.2% in positive cases since Sunday. Of the 2,129,525 people tested so far to detect COVID-19 in Utah, 17% have tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests conducted since the beginning of the pandemic is now 3,611,107, an increase of 9,985 since Sunday. Of these, 4,015 were tests of people who had not been tested for COVID-19.
The death reported Tuesday was a Salt Lake County man who was over 85 and was hospitalized when he died.
Tuesday’s total gives Utah 362,347 confirmed cases, with 14,239 hospitalizations and 1,797 deaths from disease. It is now estimated that a total of 335,049 cases of COVID-19 will be recovered in Utah, according to state data.
At a news conference Tuesday morning, Dr. Brandon Webb, an infectious disease doctor at Intermountain Healthcare, said just under 20% of Utah’s adult population has been vaccinated against COVID-19. This has led to some initial signs of the population’s immunity to the disease, he said.
“It’s helping,” Webb said. “It’s very important to see more people immunized.”
The mRNA vaccines available now have been shown to be effective in building immunity to COVID-19, including the UK variant, Webb said. MRNA vaccines are less effective against COVID-19 variants in South Africa and Brazil, so it is important to vaccinate as many people as possible now, so that these variants do not have a chance to spread. widely and become more dominant, Webb said.
Making sure you wear masks and distance yourself socially is still as important as ever, because that prevents variants from spreading and becoming more common in communities, he added.
“We want to win this race, we want to limit the number of broadcasts in our community,” Webb said.
Webb noted that current COVID-19 numbers in Utah are similar to what Utah experienced in October, before a winter wave led to the spread of the disease. While an average of seven days about 1,000 cases a day is still too high, Webb said he expects the numbers to continue to decline in Utah, especially if people continue to take the precautions they have taken since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We’re very happy to see these (numbers) go down,” he said.
There is no COVID-19 press conference scheduled for Tuesday. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to provide an update on COVID-19 during his monthly press conference with PBS Utah at 10 a.m. Thursday.
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 complaint. Some deaths may be even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but has died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed deaths and probable cases of COVID-19 as defined in the case reviewed by the Council of State and territorial epidemiologists. Death counts may change as case investigations are completed.
According to the health department, for deaths that are reported as deaths from COVID-19, the person would not have died if they did not have COVID-19.
The “people over people” method for the seven-day average positive test rate is calculated by dividing the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 by the total number of people tested. The “test over test” method is calculated by dividing the total number of positive tests by the total number of tests administered.
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.