State health officials reported 1,585 new cases on Sunday, another eight deaths.
(Rick Bowmer | The Associated Press) James Lennox, IT technical support specialist for the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind, will receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the Davis County Legacy Center on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 in Farmington, Utah. Utah began vaccinating teachers and school staff throughout the state. They aim to have all teachers and school staff vaccinated by the end of February.
Among Utah hospitals specializing in COVID-19 – locations such as the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City and the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray – there are typically a total of 453 beds for intensive care units available to patients.
Now the 453 ICU beds at those referral centers are full – and then some. The Utah Department of Health reported Sunday that 458 ICU beds are occupied in the state, meaning the sites that specialize in treating the coronavirus are at a capacity of 101.3%.
The percentage of all ICU beds across the country is also at critical levels, with 97.4%, or 515 out of 529 available from Sunday’s data release.
On Saturday, Utah broke the record for the number of COVID-19 patients currently in ICUs by 231. The number dropped to 226 on Sunday. patients.
As of Sunday, the state had administered 157,170 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This includes the 142,368 Utahns who received their first doses, and the 14,802 Utahns who received both doses.
The fact that the state reported 1,855 cases on Sunday can be considered good news. In the last seven days, 17,838 positive cases have been reported. Sunday’s 1,855 cases are the second least reported during the seven days, including 5,188 on Wednesday, and two other days that darkened 2,500.
Furthermore, 1 855 is the second lowest positive case, which dates to the end of December.
The eight deaths reported Sunday are a fraction of 101 counted over the past seven days. Utah’s death toll stands at 1,493 since the pandemic began. As the number of cases is currently down, eight deaths a day can be considered progress after the week peaked at 27 deaths on Wednesday.
Utah’s seven-day moving average for positive tests is 2,209 per day, bringing the seven-day average for the percentage of positive laboratory tests to 22.6%. The latter figure puts Utah among the top five of all 50 states on Sunday.
The 7,199 tests reported on Sunday bring the total to 1,902,260.