SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health said there are 778 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and eight more coronavirus-related deaths in the state on Saturday.
The state has also administered 18,383 more doses of the coronavirus vaccine since Friday.
Overall, this brings Utah to 366,034 confirmed cases, 1,842 deaths and 598,434 vaccines administered since the pandemic began. The health department says 200,651 of those vaccines have been second-dose.
Over the past week, Utah has averaged 779 more COVID-19 cases a day and a positive test rate of 6.12%. There are currently 242 Utahns reported hospitalized due to COVID-19, including 99 in intensive care. This contributes to a 77% UCI utilization rate statewide.
A month ago, the state had a seven-day average of 1,924 cases a day and 551 people were hospitalized.
Saturday’s figures come as 19,646 more test results were reported.
The deaths announced in Saturday’s report include:
- A Salt Lake County woman over 85 who was not hospitalized when she died
- Two Salt Lake County men between the ages of 65 and 85 who were hospitalized when they died
- A 46- to 64-year-old Salt Lake County man who was hospitalized
- A Salt Lake County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 is hospitalized
- A 45- to 64-year-old Utah County woman hospitalized
- A Weber County woman over 85 hospitalized
- A Weber County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 was hospitalized
Salt Lake County now accounts for nearly 40% of coronavirus-related deaths in Utah.
There are no coronavirus press conferences scheduled for state leaders over the weekend. Gov. Spencer Cox addressed the public Thursday, announcing that Utahns age 65 and older can now choose the coronavirus vaccine.
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 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 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.