SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s COVID-19 death toll rose to 857 on Friday, with 21 deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
According to the health department, all but two of the deaths occurred on Friday, but were still being investigated by the medical examiner’s office.
The Department of Health now estimates that there are 21,691 active COVID-19 cases in Utah.
According to the health department, the average number of positive cases of seven days per day is now at 803. The positive test rate per day for the period reported with the “people over people” method is now 13.6%. The positive test rate per day of seven days, calculated using the ‘test over test’ method, is now 6.2%.
There are now 255 COVID-19 patients currently being admitted to Utah, including 103 in intensive care, according to the Department of Health. About 77% of all beds for intensive care units in Utah have been filled since Friday, including about 81% in the 16 referral hospitals in the state. About 57% of the state’s non-ICU hospital beds are now occupied, according to data from the Department of Health.
A total of 580,051 vaccines were administered in the state, compared to 563,608 on Thursday. Of these, 188,985 are second doses of the vaccine.
The new numbers point to a 0.2% increase in positive cases since Thursday. Of the 2,151,244 people tested so far for COVID-19 in Utah, 17% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests now carried out has now increased to 3,670,444 – an increase of 17,996 since Thursday. Of these, 6,535 were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19.
The 21 deaths reported on Friday were:
- A woman in Box Elder County who was over 85 and was not hospitalized when she died
- A man from Cache County who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Davis County woman over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Davis County man over the age of 85 who was not admitted to hospital when he died
- A Davis County man who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- An Iron County man over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County man over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized when he 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 Salt Lake County woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A woman from Tooele County who was over 85 and a resident of a long-term care facility
- Two women in Utah County who were between 65 and 84 years old and residents of long-term care facilities
- A Utah County woman over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized when she died
- A Utah County man over the age of 85 who was not hospitalized when he died
- A woman in Utah County who was between 65 and 84 years old and was admitted to the hospital when she died
- A Utah County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was not hospitalized when she died
- A Washington County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was not hospitalized when he died
- A Washington County woman who was over 85 and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Washington County man who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- Two Weber County men who were between the ages of 65 and 84 and who were not hospitalized when they died
Friday’s total gives 365,256 total cases in Utah, with 14,382 total hospitalizations and 1,834 total deaths due to the disease. A total of 341,731 cases in Utah COVID-19 are now considered recovery, the Department of Health reported.
There is no COVID-19 news conference scheduled for Friday. Government Spencer Cox provided a pandemic update during a news conference on Thursday.
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.