SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s COVID-19 deaths increased by 812 on Wednesday, with 14 more reported deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The Department of Health estimates that there are now 19,001 active cases of the disease in Utah.
According to the Department of Health, the average number of positive cases of seven days per day is now 768. The positive test rate per day for the period using the “people over people” method is now 13.1%. The positive test rate per day of seven days, calculated using the ‘test over test’ method, is now 6.1%.
There are 222 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 91 in intensive care. About 74% of all beds for intensive care units in Utah are now occupied, including about 77% of the ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 51% of all non-ICU hospital beds are now occupied, according to the Department of Health.
A total of 641,881 vaccines were administered in the state, compared to 623,876 on Tuesday. Of these, 221,619 are second doses of the vaccine, according to state data.
The new numbers point to a 0.2% increase in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 2,180,594 people tested so far for COVID-19 in Utah, 16.9% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests conducted in Utah is now 3,744,344, up 19,199 since Tuesday. Of these, 7,631 were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19.
The 14 deaths reported on Wednesday include:
- Two men in Salt Lake County who were between 65 and 84 years old and were hospitalized when they died
- A Salt Lake County man who was between 65 and 84 years old and was not admitted to the hospital when he died
- A Sevier County man over the age of 85 who was admitted to hospital when he died
- A man from Tooele County who was between 25 and 44 years old and was not admitted to hospital when he died
- A Utah County man over the age of 85 who was hospitalized when he died
- Two men in Utah County who were between 65 and 84 and were hospitalized when they died
- A woman from Box Elder County who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was not admitted to hospital when she died
- Two Salt Lake County women over the age of 85 who were not hospitalized when they died
- A Salt Lake County woman who was over 85 and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A woman in Utah County who was between 65 and 84 and hospitalized when she died
- A Washington County woman over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized when she died
Wednesday’s total number of cases confirmed Utah 368,601 cases, with 14,554 total hospitalizations and 1,879 deaths due to the disease. An estimated 347,721 cases in Utah COVID-19 are now considered recovery, according to the Department of Health.
The Utah government, Spencer Cox, will provide an update on the pandemic on Thursday at 11 p.m.
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.
The Department of Health reports both confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths as defined by the case set forth 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.
The “people over people” method for the average positive test score of seven days 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.
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.