Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's number of new COVID-19 cases is staying low, but the number of tests conducted is also low.
Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases increased by 338 from Tuesday, with two more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health. The number of tests conducted increased by 2,660 as of Wednesday, according to the health department.
The state now estimates there are 9,428 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah as of Wednesday. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 389, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 8.6%.
There are currently 200 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah, according to the health department. Of those, 79 are occupying intensive care unit, or ICU, beds across the state. About 65% of all ICU beds in the state of Utah are occupied as of Wednesday, while about 52% of non-ICU beds are filled.
The new numbers indicate a 0.8% increase in positive cases since Tuesday. Of the 581,209 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 7.8% have tested positive for COVID-19.
Both deaths reported Wednesday were Salt Lake County men who were between the ages of 45 and 64. One was a resident of a long-term care facility, and the other was hospitalized when he died, the health department reports.
Wednesday's totals give Utah 45,090 total confirmed cases, with 2,696 total hospitalizations and 351 total deaths from the disease. An estimated 35,311 COVID-19 cases are considered recovered.
There is not a COVID-19 news conference scheduled for Wednesday. Utah officials are expected to provide a situational update on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
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.
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.
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.
