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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 391 from Thursday, with four more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The state now estimates there are 7,583 active cases of COVID-19 in Utah. The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now at 354, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that time period is now 8.8%.
The new numbers indicate a 0.8% increase in positive cases since Thursday. Of the 647,745 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 7.9% have tested positive for the disease, state data shows. The number of tests conducted has increased by 4,984 as of Friday, according to the health department.
The amount of tests being conducted in Utah has risen past the 4,000-per-day mark for the past several days. That shows a more promising trend in testing from earlier in August when some days saw fewer than 3,000 people tested in a single day. However, Utah is still testing far below its capacity of about 9,000 tests per day.
There are currently 118 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah, state data shows. Of those, 44 are occupying intensive care unit, or ICU, beds in the state. About 65% of all ICU beds in Utah are occupied as of Friday, while about 53% of non-ICU beds are filled, according to state data.
The four deaths reported Friday include:
- A Box Elder County man who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was hospitalized when he died
- A Box Elder County woman who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and was hospitalized when she died
- A Wasatch County woman who was between the ages of 65 and 84 and was a resident of a long-term care facility
- A Salt Lake County man who was between the ages of 45 and 64 and was hospitalized when he died.
Friday's totals give Utah 50,948 total confirmed cases, with 3,041 total hospitalizations and 407 total deaths from the disease. A total of 42,959 COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered in Utah.
There is not a COVID-19 news conference scheduled for Friday. Utah officials typically provided updates at an English-language news conference Wednesday, and a Spanish-language 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.
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.
