SALTMER CITY – The share of positive COVID-19 tests increased slightly in Utah over the weekend, but the incidence of the disease is lower than in months.
The percentage of positive tests has dropped since January, but rose slightly on Sunday, the Utah Department of Health reported, with 6.3% of tests yielding positive diagnoses on Sunday. The percentage reached 6.12% on Saturday.
The Department of Health has announced another 701 COVID-19 cases, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the state to 366,735 since March last year. Nearly 2.2 million people have been tested a total of 3.7 million times, as tests are done after possible exposure to the virus and then given again after periods of quarantine or isolation.
Another 9,123 people in Utah received a dose of COVID-19 on Saturday. And according to the Department of Health, the state has administered a total of 607,557 doses of vaccine, including 205,388 people who have now received two doses.
There are currently 241 people being treated in hospitals across the country due to complications caused by COVID-19. This is one less person admitted to the hospital than was reported on Saturday, and 14 less than Friday’s score, according to statistics from the health department.
Since the pandemic first hit Utah in March, 14,445 people – or about 5% of all COVID-19 cases in Utah – have been hospitalized with the disease caused by the new coronavirus, or SARS-CoV -2. Of those, nearly 30% were over 85 years old, and another about 20% are people between the ages of 65 and 84, according to the Department of Health.
Only 2% of hospital cases, approximately 800 people, required the use of a ventilator during treatment for COVID-19.
Hospitalizations have only recently fallen below the 77% usage warning. It was 76% on Sunday. The higher the number, the fewer beds available for intensive care units, but this also leads to a shortage of qualified staff and staff treating patients.
For months, Utah hospitals have been working above the potentially dangerous thresholds where health officials said difficult decisions had to be made.
A decrease in hospitalizations is likely to be followed by a decrease in the number of deaths caused by COVID-19, although it may take weeks to see the correlation.
Another ten COVID-19 deaths, seven of which occurred before February 1, were reported by the health department on Sunday. In Utah, 1,852 people have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The deaths reported on Sunday include:
- A Davis County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when she died.
- A man from Davis County, 65-84, who was a long-term resident.
- An Iron County man, 65-84, who was not admitted to the hospital.
- A Sevier County woman over 85 who was a long-term resident.
- A Salt Lake County woman, 65-84, a long-term care resident.
- A Salt Lake County man, 65-84, a long-term care resident.
- A Salt Lake County woman, 65-84, was admitted to the hospital.
- A Utah County man, 65-84, a longtime resident.
- A Utah County man over the age of 85 has not been admitted to hospital.
- A Utah County man, 65-84, has been admitted to the hospital.