SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases increased by 590 on Wednesday, with three more deaths and 34,472 vaccinations reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department estimates there are now 8,552 active cases of the disease in Utah. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 384, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period calculated with the “people over people” method is now 6.2%. The positive test rate per day for that time period calculated with the “test over test” method is now 3%.
There are 146 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 58 in intensive care, state data shows. About 61% of all intensive care unit hospital beds in Utah are occupied, with about 65% of ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals occupied. About 51% of all non-ICU hospital beds are occupied in the state, state data shows.
A total of 1,950,894 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, up from 1,916,922 Tuesday. A total of 1,217,167 Utahns have now received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 819,683 are now fully vaccinated. A total of 2,180,690 vaccine doses have been shipped to Utah so far.
About 51.2% of vaccine-eligible Utahns ages 16 and older have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 34.5% of the state’s vaccine-eligible population is now fully vaccinated. About 38% of Utah’s total population, including children younger than 16 who aren’t currently eligible for the vaccine, has now received at least one dose, and 25.6% of the population is now fully vaccinated.
The new numbers indicate a 0.2% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 2,505,996 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 15.7% have tested positive for the disease. The number of total tests conducted since the beginning of the pandemic is now 4,525,584, up 15,496 since Tuesday. Of those, 4,057 were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to the health department.
The three deaths reported Wednesday were:
- A Davis County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
- An Iron County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Utah County woman who was between the ages of 25 and 44 and was hospitalized when she died
Wednesday’s totals give Utah 393,862 total confirmed cases, with 15,981 total hospitalizations and 2,177 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 383,133 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson are scheduled to provide a COVID-19 pandemic update at their weekly news conference at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to the governor’s office.
Utah’s pandemic “endgame” bill, HB294, requires all state and local health orders related to COVID-19 to end on the day that Utah reaches the threshold in three key metrics: the state’s 14-day case rate is less than 191 per 100,000 people, the seven-day average of COVID-19 intensive care unit usage is under 15%, and 1,633,000 prime doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated to Utah.
The state is meeting HB294’s benchmark in the first two statistics as of Wednesday. Utah’s 14-day case rate is now 169.9 per 100,000 people, and the seven-day COVID-19 ICU usage average is now 11.1%.
A total of 1,335,645 prime doses have been allocated to Utah so far. The state is expected to meet the 1,633,000 prime doses benchmark by the second or third week of May, according to health officials. The first dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine cycles, as well as the sole dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, are considered prime doses.
