SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health on Sunday reported 1,585 new test-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, along with eight new reported deaths.
That brings Utah to 323,837 total confirmed cases and 1,493 deaths since the pandemic began.
Currently, the Department of Health says 557 Utahns are being admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19, including 226 in intensive care. The health department’s website says that Utah’s referral beds are more than 100% full, with 458 total patients being treated, although there are 453 beds available.
Sunday’s numbers come when the state has done another 14,727 tests, of which 7,199 for people who have not been tested before.
Over the past week, the state has an average of 2,209 new reported cases per day and a positive test rate of 22.6%. According to the Department of Health, 157,170 total doses of the coronavirus vaccine have now been administered in Utah, an increase from 4,661 doses from the previous day.
Nearly 15,000 Utahns received their second dose of vaccine; both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses for maximum effectiveness. The state started by vaccinating health workers and has now moved to school teachers and residents over the age of 70.
There is no coronavirus press conference of state leaders scheduled for this weekend. Government Spencer Cox and health officials are expected to hold a conference later this week; it usually occurs on Thursdays.
The Utahns whose deaths were reported Sunday included seven men who were all admitted to hospital when they died:
- A Carbon County man between 65 and 84 years old
- A Millard County man between the ages of 65 and 84
- Two men in Utah County between the ages of 45 and 64
- A Utah County man between the ages of 65 and 84
- A Washington County man between the ages of 65 and 84
- A Washington County man over 85
An Iron County woman between the ages of 65 and 84, who lived in a long-term care facility, was also included.
Methods:
Test results now contain data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after confirmation, but negative test results may not be reported 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported each day by the Utah Department of Health includes all cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak of Utah, including those currently infected, those recovering 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 did not die.
Reference hospitals are the 16 Utah hospitals that can provide the best COVID-19 health care.
According to the Department of Health, deaths usually occurred two to seven days before they were reported. Some deaths can come back even further, especially if the person is from Utah but died in another state.
According to the Department of Health, as well as likely COVID-19 deaths are confirmed as defined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The death rates could change as case investigations are completed.
For deaths reported as COVID-19 deaths, the person would not have died if they had not had COVID-19, according to the Department of Health.
Data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. Visit the website of your local health district for more localized data.
More information on Utah’s health education levels is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
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 browse to the “Data Notes” section at the bottom of the page.
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Graham Dudley