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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 521 from Wednesday, with seven more deaths — all from Salt Lake County — reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The health department now estimates there are 12,740 active cases of the disease in Utah. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 598, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 9.4%.
Thursday marks the first time the state's rolling seven-day average has dipped below 600 since July 7, according to state data. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and other state officials have set a goal of seeing that number drop consistently below 500 cases per day by Aug 1.
Thursday's new numbers indicate a 1.5% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 485,422 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 7.4% were positive for COVID-19. An increase of 4,020 COVID-19 tests was reported Thursday.
As of Thursday, there are 210 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 in Utah, with 98 of those in intensive care unit, or ICU, beds, according to state data. About 67% of ICU hospital beds are occupied in Utah as of Thursday, and about 54% of non-ICU beds are occupied.
The hospitalization rate remains at 6% Thursday, the same rate that has been recorded for the past several days. State data shows just 15 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital between Wednesday and Thursday — the lowest amount recorded since eight people were admitted on June 22.
Most days see 20-30 or more people admitted to hospitals with COVID-19.
The seven deaths reported Thursday were all Salt Lake County residents:
- A woman who was over the age of 85 and was a long-term care facility resident
- A woman who was over the age of 85 and was hospitalized when she died
- A man between the ages of 45 and 64 who was a long-term care facility resident
- A woman who was over the age of 85 and was a long-term care facility resident
- A man who was over the age of 85 and was a long-term care facility resident
- A man who was over the age of 85 and was a long-term care facility resident
- A woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a long-term care facility resident
Though several of the deaths were Salt Lake County long-term care facility residents, health department officials confirmed they were not all residents of the same facility.
Thursday’s overall totals give Utah 36,099 total confirmed cases, with 2,150 total hospitalizations and 267 total deaths from the disease. A total of 23,093 COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered, according to the health department.
There is not a COVID-19 news conference scheduled for Thursday. Utah officials typically provide updates at news conferences once a week on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
Herbert, along with health department state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn and Utah Pacific Islander Health Coalition chair Jake Fitisemanu, spoke at a news conference on Wednesday.
Contributing: Josh Furlong, KSL.com
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported yesterday's COVID-19 testing totals (481,402 tests) as today's total. The story has been corrected to show today's testing total (485,422 tests).
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.
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.
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.
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Jacob Klopfenstein
