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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s number of COVID-19 cases has increased by 906, with two new deaths reported, the state health department reported Wednesday.
One of the new deaths was a man in Washington County who was older than 85 and in a long-term care facility at the time of his death. The other was a man in Davis County between the ages of 65 and 84 who was also a resident of a long-term care facility at the time of his death, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The new case numbers indicate a 1.3% increase in cumulative positive cases since Tuesday. The rolling seven-day average of new positive cases per day is now at 1,017, according to the health department. It continues a run of the highest seven-day averages reported by the health department since the pandemic began.
The latest rise began on Sept. 9, when at the time, it had fallen to an average of 381.9 new cases per day.
The state health department reported 8,106 new tests conducted. Of the 829,970 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 8.8% have tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test rate seven-day running average is 13.6% through Sept. 24, which is a slight decrease from the current high of 14.15% through Sept. 18.
The state also reported 203 current hospitalizations due to COVID-19, which is the first time hospitalizations have exceeded 200 in Utah since Aug. 6. Of those, 75 individuals were in intensive care units. The state's total ICU occupancy rate — due to both coronavirus-related cases and non-coronavirus-related reasons — was 66.5% Wednesday, according to the health department.
There are now 73,042 total confirmed cases, with 3,847 total hospitalizations and 459 total deaths from the disease since the state reported its first case on March 6.
There also 55,141 people who are determined to have recovered from COVID-19, which accounts for 75.5% of the cumulative total through to date.
There is no COVID-19 news conference scheduled for Wednesday. Utah officials typically provide updates at news conferences once a week on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
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.
