SALT LAKE CITY – The number of COVID-19 cases in Utah increased by 1,591 on Wednesday, with another 12 deaths, according to the Utah Department of Health.
According to the Department of Health, three of the deaths occurred before Jan. 14, but were still being investigated by the medical examiner’s office in Utah.
According to the Department of Health, there are an estimated 35,431 active COVID-19 cases in Utah. According to the Department of Health, the average number of positive cases of seven days per day is now at 1 334. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 16.6%.
There are now 352 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 119 in intensive care. About 75% of the beds for intensive care units in Utah have been filled since Wednesday, including 79% of the ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 54% of non-ICU hospital beds are full, according to the Department of Health.
A total of 345,179 vaccines were administered in the state, up from 325,457 on Tuesday. Of these, 77,824 are second doses of the vaccine, according to state data.
The new numbers point to a 0.5% increase in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 2,044,811 people tested so far for COVID-19 in Utah, 17.1% tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of tests performed increased by 16,507 as of Wednesday, of which 9,149 were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19.
The 12 deaths reported on Wednesday were:
- Two men in Salt Lake County who were between 65 and 84 and hospitalized when they died
- Two men in Salt Lake County who were between 45 and 64 years old and were hospitalized when they died
- A Utah County man who was between 45 and 64 years old and was admitted to the hospital when he died
- A Utah County man who was between 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Weber County man over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Box Elder County woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and was admitted to the hospital when she died
- A Davis County woman over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Davis County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Washington woman who was between 65 and 84 years old and a resident of a long-term care facility
The total Wednesday total gives Utah 350,000 total confirmed cases, with 13,648 total hospitalizations and 1,697 total deaths due to the disease. A total of 312,872 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovery, according to the Department of Health.
The Utah government, Spencer Cox, will deliver a pandemic update at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the governor’s office.
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.
Jacob Klopfenstein