Utah’s COVID-19 death toll is 2,000

The state reports another 23 deaths, as the number of people fully vaccinated is 340,000.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) People drive in for appointments to be vaccinated for COVID-19 at the Davis County Legacy Center in Farmington on Monday, March 8, 2021. Inah’s massive vaccination room sees their appointment quickly filled, on first day that people 50 and older are officially eligible to receive their first dose.

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Nearly a year after the first Utahn died of COVID-19, the state passed 2000 total deaths.

The Utah Department of Health reported 23 additional deaths on Thursday, raising the total to 2,015. Fifteen of the latest 23 deaths reported occurred before February 11 and were confirmed to be COVID-19-related after additional tests.

The state’s first recorded death due to the coronavirus was announced on March 22, 2020.

A total of two of the 23 deaths reported on Thursday were 65 years and older, and 14 were 85 years or older.

The state also reported that more than 34,000 people were vaccinated on Wednesday, as the number of people who were fully vaccinated – with both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or the one-vaccine Johnson & Johnson vaccine – approached 340,000.

Vaccine doses administered in the past day / total doses administered • 34,290 / 936,681.

Utahns fully vaccinated • 339 743.

Cases reported in the past day • 646.

Deaths reported in the past day • 23.

Salt Lake County reported eight deaths – two women between the ages of 65 and 84, and three men and three women aged 85 plus.

There were four deaths in Davis County – a man aged 45 to 64, a man aged 65 to 84 and two women aged 85.

Washington County has reported three deaths – a man aged 45 to 64, and a man and woman aged 65 to 84.

Two Utah County residents have been killed – a man aged 65 to 84 and a man aged 85 plus.

Six counties each reported a single death – an 85-plus-year-old woman in Box Elder County; an 85-year-old woman in Cache County; a woman aged 65 to 84 in Iron County; an 85-year-old man in Kane County; an 85-year-old man in Uintah County; and an 85-year-old woman in Weber County.

Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 167. It’s eight from Wednesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 66 are in intensive care units – seven less than Wednesday.

Tests reported in the past day • 8 139 people were tested for the first time. A total of 18,923 people were tested.

Percentage of positive tests • According to the original method of the state, the rate is 7.93%. This is lower than the seven-day average of 8.44%.

The new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. The rate of Thursday is now at 3.41%, lower than the seven day average of 4.03%.

[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]

Total to date • 376,973 cases; 2,015 deaths; 15,014 hospitalizations; 2,273,483 people were tested.

This story is evolving and will be updated.

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