SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 2,543 on Friday, with 12 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department now estimates there are 55,374 active cases of the disease in Utah. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 2,391, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 25%, down a full percentage point from Thursday and down nearly 8% from last week.
The state health department also announced Friday that a new, more contagious variant of COVID-19, which originated in the U.K., has now been detected in Utah. The variant was detected in a man from Salt Lake County who tested positive last month and is between the ages of 25 and 44. The man had no known travel history outside Utah and had only mild symptoms, according to the health department.
The COVID-19 vaccine is believed to be effective against the variation of the disease.
There are 584 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 210 in intensive care, state data shows. About 93% of intensive care unit beds are occupied in Utah as of Friday, including about 95% of ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals, according to the health department. About 56% of non-ICU hospital beds are now occupied.
A total of 142,751 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, up from 133,202 Thursday.
Friday’s new case numbers indicate a 0.8% increase in positive cases since Thursday. Of the 1,884,601 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17% have tested positive for COVID-19. The number of total tests conducted increased by 17,245 as of Friday, and 12,985 of those were tests of people who hadn’t previously been tested for COVID-19.
The 12 deaths reported Friday are:
- Two Salt Lake County men who were between the ages of 65 and 84 and were residents of long-term care facilities
- Two Salt Lake County men who were between the ages of 65 and 84 and were hospitalized when they died
- Two Salt Lake County men who were between the ages of 45 and 64 and were hospitalized when they died
- A Utah County man who was over the age of 85 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Washington County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Weber County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County woman who was over the age of 85 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Tooele County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Weber County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was not hospitalized when she died
Friday’s totals give Utah 320,102 total confirmed cases, with 12,351 total hospitalizations and 1,472 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 263,256 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
There is not a COVID-19 news conference scheduled for Friday. Utah officials provided a pandemic update at a news conference Thursday.
Methodology:
Test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after they are confirmed, but negative test results may not be reported for 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since Utah’s outbreak began, including those who are currently infected, those who have recovered 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 has not died.
Referral hospitals are the 16 Utah hospitals with the capability to provide the best COVID-19 health care.
Deaths reported by the state typically occurred two to seven days prior to when they are reported, according to the health department. Some deaths may be from even further back, especially if the person is from Utah but has died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed and probable COVID-19 case deaths per the case definition outlined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The death counts are subject to change as case investigations are completed.
For deaths that are reported as COVID-19 deaths, the person would not have died if they did not have COVID-19, according to the health department.
Data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. For more localized data, visit your local health district’s website.
More information about Utah’s health guidance levels is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
Information is 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 scroll down to the “Data Notes” section at the bottom of the page.
Jacob Klopfenstein