SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health on Saturday reported 1,468 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, as well as eight new deaths due to the disease.
That brings Utah to 345,430 total reported cases and 1,663 deaths since the pandemic began.
The new cases are reportedly being tested by 8,768 more people. Last week, Utah averaged 1,509 new COVID-19 cases per day and a positive test rate of 18%.
There are currently 430 Utahns in the hospital due to COVID-19, says the health department, bringing the total hospitalizations during the pandemic to 13,427. Of those admitted to the hospital, 139 are reportedly in intensive care, contributing to a current ICU capacity of just over 86%.
All the benchmarks are moving in a positive direction from a week ago. The current positive test percentage is about one point lower, and the seven-day case case drops by about 300 cases. There are 51 fewer Utahns in the hospital and 57 fewer in intensive care.
According to the Department of Health, the state has so far administered 300,516 doses of coronavirus vaccine, nearly 19,000 more than yesterday and nearly 80,000 more than last Saturday. Nearly 58,000 of the vaccines administered were second-dose; both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses for maximum effect.
The eight deaths reported on Saturday include:
- A Cache County man between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized when he died
- A Davis County man between 65 and 84 admitted to hospital
- A Salt Lake County woman over 85 not hospitalized when she died
- A Salt Lake County man between the ages of 45 and 64 who has been hospitalized
- A Salt Lake County woman between the ages of 45 and 64, who is hospitalized
- A Salt Lake County man over 85 admitted to hospital
- A Salt Lake County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 admitted to hospital
- A Weber County woman over the age of 85 who was a resident of a long-term care facility
There is no coronavirus news conference of state leaders scheduled for the weekend.
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.
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.
Graham Dudley